New Magic
by wwsadd
Summary: Twilight/Covenant X-over: Renesmee is all grown up, and at Spencer Acadamy. there she befriends some mysterious boys that may have a secret nearly as big as her own. what will her family have to say? epecially when trouble arises, by the name of Chase.
1. Chapter 1

**hey everyone!! ok, so this is a Covenant/Twilight crossover. I'm sure you can figure out who the main character is. well, i hope you all like it, don't forget to review! and i'll try not to be as slow on updating as i was on Saving Lives, promise!**

**_~wwsadd_**

New Places, New Faces

I pulled into a parking spot and turned off the bright yellow Porsche Alice had given me as a 'first day at a new school' gift. I grabbed my small leather messenger bag and pulled the strap over my shoulder. Taking a deep breath I turned to look up at the ancient stone towers of my new boarding school.

Engraved above the administration doors were the words Spencer Academy. Mom and Dad were dead set against this, from the moment I first asked if I could apply. Thankfully Carlisle and Alice had both done an amazing job of convincing them I could handle this.

Now I just had to convince myself. I made my way slowly to the room that had been listed on my acceptance letter- it had taken a couple minutes to memorize the map of the school and my class schedule. Perk of being half-immortal. When I got to the large wooden door, I pulled out the small silver key, but before I could unlock anything, the door swung inward, and I was greeted by a bubbly blonde girl, that looked way too excited for the first day of school.

Ushering me in, she pointed out the closet and bookshelf on my half of the room. It was better than I thought it would be, although I doubted all the clothes Alice sent with me would squeeze into the closet space. After storing some of my mother's books on the shelf, I turned to introduce myself to the girl.

"Hi! I'm Sarah!" She said, grinning and holding out her hand.

I couldn't help but feel a little better. She seemed genuinely glad to meet me, which I hated to admit was relieving. I shook her hand lightly, and smiled in return. "I'm Renesmee Cullen, but you can call me Nessie, everyone does."

"That's a cool name! Last year I roomed with my friend Kate, but she graduated. Come with me and I'll show you around and introduce you to everyone worth knowing." She said jokingly, pulling me by the hand out the door.

The campus was beautiful, it was painted in the oranges and yellows and fiery reds that did not grace the rainy Washington coast I had grown up on. The uniforms we were forced to wear here were not incredibly flattering, but after living with Alice for sixteen years, I was able to spice it up a little; I could tell I did a good job when I heard a shrill whistle from across the courtyard.

Sarah rolled her eyes. "Those are Aaron Abbot's lackeys. He was this total player that graduated last year too- too bad his minions didn't disperse." She muttered quietly, refusing to look at the immature group of boys as we passed.

I laughed, deviously glancing over my shoulder at them, and then turning my attention deliberately back to my roommate. She laughed too. "You probably just gave them an aneurism. I like you already." She said.

When we got back inside, she pulled me toward what I remembered from the map to be the swimming pool. "I think Caleb and the others are here watching Tyler, they don't start at Harvard until next Tuesday." She said excitedly, and then hurried to explain. "Caleb is my boyfriend, his best friend Pogue is dating Kate, my roommate from last year, and their other friend Reid… well, you'll see. Reid is one of a kind.

"Tyler is part of their group, just a year younger- they were like, the total 'in' crowd last year, well, every year since they started school here. People around in this town call them the Sons of Ipswich." She said hurriedly, opening the door, a small thrill shot down my spine at her words, though I couldn't even begin to guess why.

A large draft of chlorine filled air met my face.

Suddenly Sarah was no longer beside me; she was across the large room and had thrown herself into the arms of the classic 'tall dark and handsome' guy that had stood up from the bleachers to greet her. I rolled my eyes and made my way lightly over to where they were standing with two other guys and a girl with long dark hair, whom I took to be Kate.

The two other boys looked to be about eighteen, one looked like the kind of guy Jake would like, obsessed with fast cars and all that jazz. The other had blond hair and this extremely mischievous glint in his eyes. I could tell right away that this one must be Reid.

I stopped a few feet away and politely waited for Sarah to introduce me. Too bad she was preoccupied with her very public display of affection to realize that I was there. The one I took to be Reid jumped down from the bleachers. He sauntered over and held out his hand.

"Reid Garwin, you'll have to forgive her- the two of them get a little carried away sometimes. True love and all that." H e said with a smirk.

I snickered, and shook his hand. "I'm Renesmee Cullen; I just moved here from the Seattle area, I'm Sarah's new roommate." I replied, wondering why I instantly found this cocky teenager so engaging. Usually I had little to no patience with people my own age. I had been raised by vampires that were almost all at least a century old, and I didn't relate well to other kids. Which was the main reason I was here, I needed a crash course in social life 101, especially if I was going to have to play a teenager for the rest of eternity.

Reid cocked an eyebrow. "Seattle eh? You've come pretty far to go to school, or, to not go to school, which would be my suggestion." He said. He threw his arm lightly over my shoulder and guided me toward the others. My heart jumped into my throat and started beating double-time.

Besides Jake and his pack, I had almost no experience with interacting with normal people, and I was stunned that I seemed to be accepted so quickly. I knew that I was enthralling for all things mythical, but I couldn't understand why these normal humans took a liking to me so fast. Usually humans were intimidated by me… this would be a mystery I would have to unravel.

When we reached them, a somewhat younger looking boy with dark hair and dark eyes, that was currently dripping wet, had joined the group. Tyler, obviously. The one who I took to be Pogue had his arm wrapped lightly around Kate's waist, and Sarah and Caleb were still… getting reacquainted. Reid reached out with his free hand and knocked Caleb on the back of the head, causing the two to abruptly stop what they had been doing.

"Don't be rude." Reid said, and I could tell there was some joke that I, as the outsider, was missing. "We have company. Everyone, this is Rainy Cullen. Rainy, this is Pogue, Kate, Tyler, and this is our fearless leader-" He smirked, mock punching Caleb in the arm.

I cocked an eyebrow and pretended to glare. Reid shrugged innocently. "What? Renesmee, Rainy? I think it fits. You are from the rainiest city in the world." He pointed out.

I tried to look like I was considering it, but in reality, it was so much better than being nicknamed after the loch ness monster. Finally I shrugged too. "Touché." I muttered, attempting not to let him see the inexplicable way he made me feel so special and so normal at the same time.

**well... what d'ya think? like? hate? don't care? well let me know!! review!!**


	2. Chapter 2

**OK, first of all, i forgot the disclaimer. I own nothing but Rainy's attitude!! (and her cool new nickname) The guys + Sarah and Kate are property of the movie the Covenant, and Renesmee and her family belong to the very talented Stephenie Meyer. Second of all, I'm struggling with where to put this story. It's setting is 100% Covenant, but for readers its more important to know Renesmee's history, so for now it will stay in the Twilight category. and third, because it's bound to come up, yes, Jake _is_ in this story- this is my longest story yet, and it's got an intricate storyline. He'll make his appearance, I have _not_ forgotten about the imprinting thing- everything will be explained in time. Alright, ridiculously long author's note is over, enjoy chapter two!!**

**and don't forget to review!!**

**~_wwsadd_**

Chapter Two: More Mysteries

After being introduced to the Sons of Ipswich, and getting acquainted with their peculiar sense of humor, Caleb insisted that we let him take us all to lunch. I could tell right away that all of these guys, with the exception of Sarah, were used to the same lifestyle that I was. I understood immediately why Alice had insisted that I come to this school. Everyone here that was not on scholarship came from money, and lots of it.

My parents had raised me with the understanding that money did not buy happiness, and that it was, in fact, obsolete. I was glad however, that I did not have to feel any more like an outsider than I already must with my unique family and history.

We all crowded into a giant booth, in the nice upscale Italian restaurant that seemed somehow out of place in the small colonial town. I sat between Reid and Tyler, across from the two couples. Within moments we were all laughing over Reid's retelling of the foursome's adventures while at Spencer, complete with the best ways to tick off the headmaster, and the easiest ways to get out of detention.

I marveled at how easy it was to be around these people, how genuine my liking of them was. Growing up I didn't have many friends outside my family and Jake's pack. Both my parents and Jake were too overprotective of me and my secret to trust many people. But here I was, and I finally felt like I was living a normal life, and I was ecstatic.

"So what is there to do for fun in this town?" I asked, during a break in the storytelling, right after the food had been delivered and the waitress had gone back to the kitchen. "I mean, no offense, but this doesn't seem like the most happening place in the world… outside your little escapades anyway." I said, nudging Reid and smirking.

He feigned a hurt look and threw his right hand over his heart as though I had insulted him. "I would have you know that there's never a dull day in Ipswich, thank you very much. Some days can even get a little… hellish." He said, his tone dropping and his face becoming abruptly more serious.

Pogue was sitting across from him, and I could feel him kick Reid discreetly under the table. I sensed a story there, one that no one was going to willingly tell me. Every moment I sat there I got more and more of a vibe that there was a large secret that was hidden just under the surface of the playful, easy-going, popular teenagers that I happened to stumble upon.

I was no stranger to secrets. If I concentrated hard enough, I could still remember billowing black cloaks and fearsome red eyes. There were some things that should not be shared, ever. I shuddered lightly at the memory of my first months on Earth, and pulled myself back to the reality.

If they were hiding something, it was probably for good reason. Trust me to find the only dangerous kids in my new town. I was too much like my mother. But at that moment, I couldn't bring myself to care.

I cleared my throat, trying to gloss over the awkward moment. "Well, then I guess you're just going to have to prove it, aren't you?" I asked, raising my eyebrows and trying to 'dazzle' them like my parents always accused each other of doing to make the situation go their way.

Reid looked speechless for a minute, so I guess it worked. Until he smirked. "If I must. Come to Nicky's tonight with us, and I'll _show_ you." He said superiorly. Tyler and Pogue both laughed, Kate and Sarah grinned and nodded in intense agreement.

Caleb was shooting Reid a look that was somewhere between extreme irritation and a threat. If I didn't figure out what was going on soon, my overactive imagination was going to start jumping to all sorts of crazy conclusions.

After lunch, Caleb dropped me, Sarah, and Tyler off at school, and the three of us all hung out in my and Sarah's room. I was already enjoying the lack of adult supervision, as Sarah put on a rock n' roll CD and started dancing like an idiot around the room. Tyler was reclining on her bed, laughing at her. He was the quiet one of the bunch, but it was easy to tell that he was also the sweet one, the keeper of the peace.

I finished unpacking my stuff, having to work extra hard to get the closet door shut, and then I threw myself down on my bed with a theatrical sigh. "So, where exactly are we going tonight? And what am I supposed to wear?" I asked.

Tyler took the liberty of explaining, as Sarah was still dancing around like she was having some sort of a seizure. "Nicky's. It's where all the Spencer kids go to unwind after a long day in this place. It's a bar, but don't worry, Nicky doesn't mind looking the other way- no one gets carded. If you really want to mess with Reid's head, just pull that voodoo mind trick thing you did earlier. Don't even bother getting dressed up." He teased.

I was excited at the idea of this Nicky's. I knew it wasn't exactly on the list of activities that my parents would find acceptable, but what they didn't know wouldn't hurt them. With the exceptions of Alice and Emmett, they all seemed to forget that against any human dangers, I was more than capable of taking care of myself.

I stuck my tongue out at Tyler playfully. "I don't know what you're talking about. Reid is obviously just very easily distracted." I said mischievously. And it was true. I hadn't used any real magic against him. I had been practicing with my gift for years, and had it well in check.

Tyler laughed. "Whatever helps you sleep at night." He said.

In the end, half my outfit came from Sarah's closet. I wore my own shoes and jewelry, but the short cutoff denim skirt and the light black leather jacket were borrowed. The green corset top was mine though, and it matched the antique silver and emerald necklace that my father had given to me for my sixteenth birthday. It had been his grandmother's almost two hundred years ago. Sarah wore ripped jeans and borrowed the low-cut black halter top that Rose had bought, and the shoes that matched.

I pulled all of my long auburn hair back. If I left it down, it waved halfway down my back, and I knew it would get in the way. I piled it up on my head loosely, and left a few strands down to frame my face. I had always had bad luck with makeup; my skin was too light to match most shades. I put on some dark eyeliner and called it good.

Sarah looked up from buckling on the wedges she planned to wear, and I zipped up my knee-high leather boots. We modeled for Tyler, who just laughed and rolled his eyes. "You both look like you're asking for it." He said between gasps. I flipped up my middle finger while Sarah grabbed a pillow and started beating him over the head with it.

Half an hour later we were piling in back of Tyler's Hummer. The others were going to meet us there. "I feel like a damn chauffer." He muttered.

Sarah and I looked at each other and snickered. "Come on now, you're showing up with two of the hottest girls in school, what are you complaining about?" Sarah asked.

When we walked in we each grabbed one of Tyler's arms, in a mock-attempt to make him feel like a badass. The lights were dim and pulsating, and the sharp smell of cigarette smoke was almost overpowering. But the atmosphere was light and unthreatening. Rock music floated from the ancient juke box in the corner.

Sarah grabbed my hand and pulled me to the table that Caleb and Pogue were sitting at with Kate. Tyler had disappeared. Kate jumped down from her high stool next to Pogue and was looking between me and Sarah conspiratorially. "Well, good thing number one about having you around," she said, raising her eyebrows suggestively, "You do wonders for her sense of style." She said with a laugh.

Caleb seemed to agree; he slid down too, and wrapped his arms around his girlfriend. "Wanna dance?" He asked, resting his head on her shoulder and swaying back and forth. She nodded and they headed toward the small dance area. Kate had a stupid grin on her face as she watched them. I claimed Caleb's empty seat.

Pogue was holding Kate's hand, the same smile plastered on his face as he watched his best friend dance. "You'll really have to forgive them; they went through some really rough times last year, now they're just focusing as hard as they can on being happy together." He explained, and Kate nodded in agreement.

I smiled lightly. I had lived with Rose and Emmett my entire life. Compared to them, Sarah and Caleb were refreshingly not-clingy. And I was happy that my new friends seemed to be so happy. The little intuitive voice in the back of my head was whispering that the troubles they had may have been due to the secret that I had yet to discover, but that voice was easily silenced.

"It's okay, they seem perfect together." I said, fidgeting with the silver chain around my neck. Kate looked between me and the empty table.

"You want something to drink? Pogue will totally go introduce you to Nicky. He probably won't even charge you since it's your first night." She said matter of factly.

I shrugged, jumping down from the table and searching the dark bar for Tyler and Reid. "Maybe in a bit." I told her. In all honesty I didn't want any alcohol in my system. I had no experience to show me the effects. There was only ever one drink on the menu at my house.

Finally I spotted them at the pool table, teamed up against one of the guys that had whistled at me in the courtyard, and a snarky-looking guy whose entire demeanor screamed 'deluded liar'. I sauntered their way, after throwing up a peace sign at Pogue and Kate, who also headed toward the dance floor.

Tyler had just had his turn, and the one I assumed must be Aaron Abbot was leaning over to take his shot. I sidled up and leaned against the table next to him, seductively inclining toward him, I had left Sarah's jacket at the table, and rested my chin on my bare shoulder.

"Hey there." I whispered. "I'm Rainy Cullen." I used Reid's new nickname, partly because it sounded more girly.

He missed the ball completely, scratching the surface of the green table and nearly dropping the pool stick. I tried to keep the smirk off my face while Tyler howled with laughter. Reid looked like he wasn't sure if he was amused or annoyed.

Aaron straightened up and gave me a once over that almost had my skin crawling. I was suddenly unsure about this game I was playing. "Well hey there. You look like you could use a drink." He said, snaking his arm around my waist.

I stood up away from the pool table, casting a worried glance over at Reid and Tyler. I could more than handle myself if it got down to it, but the last thing I wanted to do was cause a scene. Reid immediately took the look on my face as fear and started around the table. "Back _off_ Abbot." He snarled.

He just pulled me back toward him. "Well I didn't ask you Garwin. Why don't you go find one of your regulars to hook up with? I'm going to show this fine new student some Ipswich hospitality." He said with a snicker.

I nonchalantly stepped away from him, managing to step on his foot with my stiletto boot heel while I was at it. I tried to look apologetic when he screeched and jumped back. I knew that I had probably dislocated half the bones in his foot. "Oh, I'm so sorry! It looks like you'll have a tough time dancing tonight, maybe next time!" I finished brightly, and quickly made my way to where Reid and Tyler were both bent over laughing.

When Reid caught full sight of me, his mouth fell open, causing Tyler to laugh even harder. "I told you." He managed to gasp while I glared at him. Reid offered me his hand with a small gesture toward the dance floor. I took his hand and let him lead me to where Sarah and Kate were dancing wildly. I could immediately tell that they both needed some serious dance lessons.

I maneuvered in between them and started moving, letting the rhythm of the fast paced song beat through my body. I let go of all thought and just let the music take me. My love of all things music had been inherited from my dad, and Alice's instruction in dance had done nothing but made my interest in hip hop and rock n' roll grow.

I let my eyes wander back to Reid's face, where he still had a slightly awed look in his eyes. Sarah and Kate were both grinning widely at me; I figured it must be a nice change for them to see the bad-boy floored. I beckoned to him and he moved smoothly to rest his hands on my hips.

It was easy to see that he was a better dancer than he let on, although his hands on my waist made it hard to concentrate on any coherent thought at all. It screamed danger, and I was enthralled. I had never been allowed near anything dangerous after the first months of my life, and the pull of it was intoxicating.

The rest of the night passed in a blur, I didn't have anything to drink, and Reid seemed to accept my decision, content to spin me around the dance floor till we were both out of breath. By one in the morning, the place was clearing out, and I groaned when Sarah pouted and pointed out that we had class in less than six hours.

The guys all laughed, with the exception of Tyler, who was also dreading school. "Why do they insist on starting classes on a Friday? Has no one on the board ever heard of Thirsty Thursday?" Sarah muttered, her eyeliner and mascara slightly smudged. She had drunk enough for both of us in my opinion.

"Why do you think they do it? They live to make us miserable." I said, leaning back against Reid even though I didn't really need the support. His arms tightened a little around me. My heartbeat hadn't slowed at all through the night, and it was a strange high. I wondered if adrenaline affected me differently than it did normal humans.

Even through the rush, the small voice of reason was screaming at me. What would my parents say? Reid was obviously Spencer's playboy. Aaron's comment hadn't escaped me earlier. If there was one thing I learned from my family's story, it was that the heart is the most fragile thing in the world; it takes next to nothing to break it and a lifetime to heal it. I was playing with fire, and I couldn't begin to fathom the consequences.

But even so, I wanted the chance to be a kid. A real life kid with real life issues, I wanted a break from magic, just for a little while. So I buried the worries, shut the little voice in a corner and smothered it. This was my time to live.

Reid, Pogue and Caleb walked us out to Tyler's Hummer. Pogue and Kate quickly bid us goodnight and climbed onto a small, sleek motorcycle that looked like it could triple the speed limit with ease. Sarah and Caleb were saying their heartfelt goodbye next to Caleb's impressive looking convertible.

Tyler looked like he was about to pass out, and had climbed into the driver's seat, pulling to door shut securely, and starting the ignition. I looked at Reid, really not sure what I was supposed to do now. The irony of the situation struck me, as he must be the most experienced guy around here, and I had no understanding of how to do this at all.

Somehow he could tell I was freaking out, and I wondered if the constant rush to my head had left my powers a little more out of hand than normal. He pulled me closer to him briefly, and kissed me lightly on the cheek. My body felt like it was on fire when he whispered in my ear. "Thanks for the dance."

He turned and jogged toward Caleb's car, and I could hear him groan. "Come on man, you can only say goodbye for so long before it turns into something else… can we please get going?" I giggled and crawled into the backseat.

Sarah joined us moments later, the dreamy look not quite leaving her eyes. I wondered what my face looked like. The ride back to school was silent. Tyler hugged us both goodbye, startling me a bit. I barely had energy to be surprised again at how fast I had made friends.

When we got into the room Sarah locked the door and changed quickly into an old t-shirt. Climbing into bed she refocused her attention.

"I have never seen Reid act like that before. Did he not make a move at all?" She asked.

I pulled a tank top and cut-off sweats on, and crawled into my own bed. I switched off the light before it could give away the blush that I could feel burn in my cheeks.

"Not really." I managed to mutter, not sure if it was a lie.

"Just be careful, okay? I think you're really cool, and I don't want him to break your heart. He's not the most faithful guy in the world. Not that you can't handle it, not going to lie, I was impressed tonight. Just be on your guard. It's hard for people to change." She said, and l could tell she was on the edge of sleep.

I smiled, rolling over on my side and pulling the down comforter up onto my shoulders. "Thanks for the heads up, and Sarah?" I asked hesitantly.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for everything. I owe you."

~~~~~~  
**review? pretty _please_?**


	3. Chapter 3

**Wow, third update in two days! It's going to slow down a lot after this, and this may be the longest chapter. No promises though. But I need to start focusing on school again, so I won't have another writing streak like this one for a while. Let me just say again, please review!!! I don't know if my writing is any good or not if i don't get any feedback! And this is the chapter we finally start figuring out the deal with Jake.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing :( see chapter two for full credits.**

**Caution: Teen drinking in this chapter.**

**_~wwsadd_**

New Lessons Learned

The next day I realized how right Sarah had been. I was thankful that I had a photographic memory, and didn't have any need for notes, because I was almost too tired to keep my eyes open. The hours blurred together, as I trudged through the halls. During my last class of the day, a chess-club type boy came into the International Governments classroom and handed a small note to the teacher.

"Miss Cullen, the headmaster wants you in his office, now please." I was too tired to even be confused; I just followed the boy to the large office that was nearly as impressive as Carlisle's.

The headmaster was an imposing elderly man that had a folder open on his large oak desk. He gestured to the empty seat, and I sat down, trying to stay as alert as possible.

"Ah, Miss Cullen, thank you for coming. I see you have a very impressive record, you're just sixteen, and already in the senior class. Are you adjusting well to Spencer?" He asked, folding his hands on his desk and fixing me with a stern glare.

"Yes sir, I feel like I am going to fit in quite well here. I've already made friends with my roommate Sarah and her friend Tyler Simms." I said, remembering to be as polite as possible.

This seemed to make the headmaster extremely happy. "Mr. Simms? Very good, very good. I'm glad to see you're falling in with the right crowd. I'm sure you'll meet Mr. Danvers soon too; they are all good influences, especially Caleb. I can see you are making good decisions. Let me know if you have any problems while here at Spencer. Enjoy the term." He finished, clearly it was time for me to get back to class.

When I finally made it back to my room, I was glad to find it empty. Pulling out my Sidekick, I hit the speed dial and let it ring, hoping either my mom or dad answered.

"Cullen residence." A lilting voice said. I sighed, squeezing the phone tighter. I was abruptly homesick.

"Hey Esme. How are things?" I asked, swallowing a few times to get rid of the lump in my throat.

"Nessie! It's so good to hear from you! Everyone hoped you'd call last night, but as Alice pointed out, it more than likely meant you were out having fun." She said sweetly.

"Yes, my roommate Sarah is great, she introduced me to a bunch of her friends and they insisted on showing me around town last night. Sorry I didn't call." I said, lying smoothly. It was an art that was quickly learned when your father could read your thoughts and your uncle could tell every time you felt guilty or deceptive.

"Oh, don't be sorry! We're glad you're getting along there so well! Did you want to talk to your mom and dad?" She asked.

"Please. Thanks Esme!"

"Nessie!" I heard my mother trill excitedly. "We miss you honey! How's school?"

Then I heard my dad's quiet laugh. "Calm down Bella. Ness, we're so glad you called."

"Everything is great, thank you so much for letting me come here! I've already made some friends, and today I talked to the headmaster, who was very impressed with my record." I said, babbling just a bit. It had only been a day and a half since I had seen them, but I wasn't used to being away from them.

Mom sighed. "Oh good, we're so glad! Are you still planning on coming home tomorrow?" She asked.

I shrugged self-consciously. I tried to be honest. "I think it'd be best if I stayed here and finished adapting to boarding school life. If that's okay… I'll be home next week though, I really miss you guys!"

There was silence for a moment. "Of course that's alright sweetheart, we miss you too, don't be a stranger. Call again soon." Dad said, and I could tell that they were slightly disappointed. But I needed to sort through the Reid thing before Jasper or Rosalie could call me on it.

I said my goodbyes and hung up, apparently with perfect timing, as Sarah entered the room.

She plopped down on her bed dramatically, and stifled a yawn. "I'd suggest taking a nap Ness, party at the Dells tonight." She said, yawning again. I crawled back into my own bed, still fully clothed.

"The Dells?" I asked sleepily, wondering if I could even handle another night of partying.

"It's this place… well, you'll see." She said, drifting back to sleep.

As I slept, I dreamed.

_  
Sitting at the window seat in Aunt Alice's room, I was under the impression that my mother did not realize that I could hear her and Jake arguing. I was twelve, and had spent years trying to get my parents to accept that Jake was my very best friend. I hated it when they fought._

_  
"Jacob! Just tell me what is going on!" I heard her yell._

_  
"Seriously, Bells, I don't have time for this! I have to protect my pack, now that Sam's gone; I have a lot more responsibility. I can't let there be any repeats of what happened last year. Which means I have to leave." He growled. I froze. Jake promised he would always be there. Was he going back on his word?_

_  
"But where are you going? And what are you going to tell my daughter?" She cried._

_  
"I can't tell you everything! You of all people should know that! Just tell her I'll be back as soon as I can. You know if I talk to her I won't be able to leave, and I have to do this Bella, if this gets blown out of proportion it's not just the pack that will be in danger. And I can't do that! Not to you, and not to her." He said desperately._

_  
I heard a door bang closed._

_  
That was the first time I ever cried human tears, it took a lot to get me upset enough for human reactions. Moments later my mother was by my side. Brushing the hair out of my face she pulled me into her arms. "I'm sorry sweetheart; I didn't know you were listening. Jake will be back, you know he can't say away for long. He just wants to keep you safe." She said softly. I could tell that she was lying; she had never been good at it. _

_  
Gently she unclasped the bracelet that I had never seen leave her wrist. She quickly reattached it on mine. The diamond heart threw a reflection on one side, and the small carved wolf was worn, but it was easy to see the detail that had gone into it. "You are the one who should wear this. It's you that is welcome in both worlds." She whispered._

_  
It was over a year before Jake came back, and it was only for a few days before he was gone again. My memories flew forward to the day he left the second time. This time it was my dad he argued with._

_  
"Look Edward, you and I, we got over our differences, we didn't really have much of a choice. But this is my fight, and I will handle it. It's just going to take longer than planned. Stay out of it. Keep your family out of it, and someday things will go back to normal. It's not like we don't all have forever." He scoffed. Again, I was upstairs. Sometimes I really hated the supersonic hearing._

_  
"Jacob, we all think of you as part of our family. We would appreciate it if you would return the favor. The fact that we might live forever does not make this any easier on anyone." He spoke quietly, but I still caught it._

_  
"I know." Jake muttered. "But it doesn't change anything. I'll leave Seth here. He'll keep you informed on anything we can safely share, and it'll hopefully be…easier. That's the best I can do, I'm sorry. You should know that this isn't the way I wanted… I didn't ask for this, I'm just doing the best I can with what I've got."He tried to explain._

_  
I really had to strain to hear my dad's parting words. "I know, just come back as soon as you can… and please, be careful with whatever you are doing. I don't know if my family will stay intact if something happens to you." He said._

_  
The door slammed shut again._

I woke with a start. I was surprised that my cheeks were wet with the tears I had cried in sleep. Pulling my wrist up in front of my face, I examined the small red wood wolf that dangled from one side. Jake had carved it for my mother as a high school graduation gift. I still remembered the way his face lit up when he saw that it had been passed down to me.

He had been my best friend for as long as I could remember, all the way back to those days of fear when Bella had been ready to send us both away to save our lives. He was my protector, and when it got too dangerous for him to be around me, he left, breaking both our hearts.

According to pack law, he was allowed to tell me anything and everything. But he had told my parents that ignorance is safety, as if they hadn't already learned that lesson. He didn't want to put me in more danger by telling me what it was he was away fighting.

All I knew was that whatever it was had killed the previous pack leader, and Jake was determined to eradicate it before it claimed the lives of any more of his pack. In his long stretches of absence, he always left his second in command, Seth. Seth and my dad were good friends, and he was always welcome at the Cullen residence. I liked Seth a lot, he was easier going than Jake, and really funny, but I still missed my best friend.

We hadn't heard much in the last year; Seth got quieter and quieter, and answered fewer and fewer questions. He said everything would be fine, but there was only so long we could believe him. I wondered what Jake would think of my decision to come to this school. To befriend these people with an obviously dark secret.

"Are you alright?" I was jerked back to reality by Sarah's worried question.

I shook my head to clear it. "Oh, yeah, sorry. Bad dream." I said shortly. I knew there was no way to explain it. This of course, meant she had to ask.

"I'm sorry! What was it about?"

I groaned quietly. "My uh, best friend. He had to go away a long time ago and I haven't heard from him in a few months. Usually he'll send some sort of message or something. I guess I'm subconsciously worried." I said as lightly as I could manage.

"Wow, that's scary. I hope everything's okay. Why did he leave?" She asked. I could only dodge her questions for so long, although I was touched that she was concerned about me enough to ask.

"Oh, family problems. He had to go sort through a bunch of stuff. He should be back soon, he did promise." I said with a grin. "Okay, so this party, what do I _wear_?"

Two hours later Tyler was knocking at our door. He let himself in when Sarah hollered at him, we were just finishing getting ready. We were both dressed a bit more practical tonight, jeans and flip flops, and we both pulled on jackets over the shirts we had grabbed out of my overstuffed closet. Who knew Alice's shopping addiction would pay off so well?

"We're late you guys!" He said, shaking his keys impatiently. I stuffed my cell phone and some cash in my back jean pocket and hit the lights. Sarah grabbed her purse from her desk and pulled the door shut.

"So my question never really got answered… what exactly is the Dells?" I asked, as Tyler sped down the dark highway.

His eyes caught mine in the rearview mirror. "Well technically we're trespassing when we party out there, but it's a tradition. There's a bonfire and drinks and all kinds of music. You'll like it." He said.

My smile froze in place at the word fire. I instinctually shied away from flames, as they were nearly the only harmful thing to vampires. Taking a couple of deep breaths, I willed myself to relax. It wasn't as if I was going to get attacked and burned alive. Sarah gave me a confused look, and I smoothed over my expression.

"Sounds great." I managed to spit out.

Moments later we were crawling out of the SUV. Tyler grabbed us each by the hand and tugged us toward the loud music that was blaring from the intense stereo system someone had set up on the beach. The bonfire was huge, but it was hard to be terrified when I was surrounded by my laughing classmates.

It seemed like many of them had already started drinking, and I wondered what the point was. The rebellious part of me wanted to try it, and the mature, adult side of me was currently lecturing the rebel side. I caught sight of Aaron Abbot there with his posse, and I couldn't help but laugh when he winced and limped with every step he took.

Then Sarah was gone. I assumed she had spotted Caleb, and run off to greet him. So I was left holding Tyler's hand, starting to feel slightly awkward. I nearly jumped out of my skin when I felt an arm wind around my waist. I spun and nearly knocked into Reid, releasing Tyler's hand.

"Whoa there killer, slow down." He teased. I laughed nervously, not really sure how I was supposed to act around him after talking to Sarah the night before.

"Sorry, thought you were Aaron."I joked back. He made gagging noises.

"Nope! Lucky for you." He said, releasing his hold on my waist but taking my hand. We walked off toward the water, leaving the blaring music behind. Wandering along aimlessly, I swung our hangs lightly between us.

My heart was beating in double time again, and I had to remind myself to breathe. "So…" I asked, finally breaking our silence. "No offense, but you don't really seem like the Harvard type. What's up with that?"

He snickered, but his eyes didn't light up like they had when he was smiling before. "You go to Spencer Academy to get into Harvard. My dad went, my grandfather, my father's grandfather, centuries back. You can't be a Garwin and not go to Harvard. It's like, some sort of unspoken law of the universe." He explained, his voice getting hard at the end.

I sighed. Family expectations, something I understood all too well. Rules of the universe, also something I understood. "If you didn't _have_ to go to Harvard, where would you want to go?" I asked curiously.

He looked puzzled for a minute, as if no one had ever asked him that before. "I'm not really sure. I don't want to be a lawyer. I guess if I could do anything, it would be art." He said, and then abruptly shut up, like he hadn't meant to let the words come out of his mouth.

My eyes widened. "Really? That's wonderful! Have you ever considered…" I didn't finish, the look on his face made it very clear that he would not be considering anything, and that my suggestion was not appreciated. "Oh, right." I mumbled lamely.

There were a few moments of silence before he stopped walking and pulled on my hand so I turned around to face him. "Rainy...I'm sorry, _okay_? Some things just have to be a certain way; it's no use fighting against them. I should know, I've spent my whole life fighting." He said, the smirk flashing back across his face. Then he realized again what he had said and sighed exasperatedly. "Geez, I always say way too much around you!"

Until he added that, it had not occurred to me that the fighting he had done all his life was not just against his parents' expectations. Again, it had something to do with the big dark secret that they were all hiding. Suddenly I wondered about using my genetically gifted powers in a way I had never tried before in my life. The thought had always seemed wicked somehow.

As much as I had practiced controlling and manipulating my gift, I had never tried doing the reverse with it. I knew from my mother's experiences that it wasn't easy to do. I had a moment of indecision before I chose to try it. How bad could it be?

Instead of reaching out with the images in my head, I tried to let in images from around me. I tried to draw in the warmth that radiated from my fingertips, instead of releasing it. The energy that it took surprised me. But slowly I began to see images that were not from my own memory.

Reid was remembering the previous day at lunch, when Pogue had kicked him, and last night, leaving Nicky's, Caleb had pulled him aside and told him to watch himself. I couldn't hold onto it for long, and with a quiet gasp I let it go, releasing the heat back out to my hands. I silently wondered if that was anything like Alice's visions.

Pulling myself back to reality, I met Reid's worried gaze. "Say too much?" I asked, trying to quickly cover my tracks. "Trust me; I'm not really understanding a whole lot of it, but I'm a good listener." I told him truthfully.

He grinned, leaning his head down so he could whisper in my ear. "Great, that means I can keep talking then." And slowly he touched his lips to mine. It felt like my heart was exploding, and I couldn't find the little voice of conscious. All I could do was feel the blood rushing through my veins, mixed with too much adrenaline. I had never really been kissed before, and it was better than I could have imagined.

My arms wound around his neck, pulling him closer, but he released me quickly, taking a step back. I reigned in my emotions, praying that I hadn't let my power run wild and given him the biggest scare of his life. I tried to keep a blank face, really unsure now as to what was supposed to happen.

Taking a deep breath, he smiled. "Sorry, I was really trying not to make a complete jerk out of myself. Forgive?" He asked, with what could only be described as the puppy-dog look. I wasn't sure if I should be relieved or disappointed. Obviously he brought out my more human side, but it perversely affected my vampire reactions. Even so, I couldn't help but feel a little hurt that he seemed to regret it.

I shrugged, trying to make it look nonchalant. "Nothing to forgive. Don't worry about it." I said as lightly as I possibly could. I wanted to go back to the campfire, to find Sarah and Kate and escape the overdose of emotions, human emotions I didn't know how to handle.

Pretending to notice the slight chill in the air, I pulled my denim jacket closer around me, and let the too-long sleeves engulf my hands. I turned, trying not to seem rude, and began to slowly walk back toward the party. Reid looked like he wanted to say something, but then shook his head instead, and kept pace with me.

When we finally made it back to the ring of firelight, Kate rushed over to me. I had had plenty of time to arrange my face in the dark, and smiled brightly at her. She quickly grabbed my wrist and hauled me over to a long foldable table. I peripherally saw Reid turn and head toward Tyler and Pogue.

There were all manner of colors and shapes of bottles, and Kate handed me a red plastic cup. "Here, you should try this." She said excitedly, pouring some bright blue liquid into it, until it was a third of the way full. Then she opened another bottle, and filled it to the top with the light yellow, creating a mixture that looked like it would be dangerous to consume.

"Do I even want to know what you put in this?" I asked, the voice of reason in my head had been silenced when I was with Reid and did not make its reappearance. Kate laughed. She shook her head, confirming that my doubt was not misplaced.

"I promise, it tastes amazing, and it won't even mess with your head that much. Just try it!" She pleaded. Something about peer pressure ran through my memory, Dad had warned me I was going to run into this kind of situation. I just hadn't realized at the time how appealing it would be to just say yes for once.

I raised the cup to my lips and took a swallow. There was a light burn down the back of my throat, but it immediately spread to warm the rest of my body. The sensation itself was fantastic, and it tasted like cotton candy. I quickly took another drink, and another, and it finally made sense to me why these kids drank all the time.

Kate laughed. "Slow down. It's good, right? Don't drink it too fast; you'll have a nasty headache later if you don't space it out a bit." She warned. I nodded in understanding, and tried to pace myself. Slowly I began to see the other reasons people partied. Everything I had been worried about was almost impossible to recall. When the cup was empty I threw it aside and made my way into the crowd of dancers. I found Sarah and Kate flailing about wildly again, but this time it made perfect sense, and I was more than happy to join in the fun.

Feeling a hand on my wrist, I turned and nearly stumbled into someone. Letting my vision refocus, I realized it was Aaron. I was feeling somewhat vindictive however, and threw my arms playfully around his neck. "You still want that dance?" I grinned, moving my hips to the rhythm of the hip-hop that was blaring.

His returning smile was almost predatory. Pulling me up against him tightly, he nodded. A few minutes later, I was wondering if what he was doing could even be considered dancing. I knew I should walk away, but my judgment was just skewed enough that I couldn't care.

Suddenly Sarah pulled me away and over to where she and Kate were dancing. "Nessie! Why were you dancing with Aaron Abbot?" She asked, like she was talking to a two year old. I shrugged.

"I don't know. He grabbed me. Why does it matter who I dance with anyway? We're all just here to have fun." I snarked, not wanting my strange high to be ruined, and not realizing that I was babbling like an idiot.

"Good lord Kate, how much did you give her?" Sarah muttered quietly. Kate looked at me, puzzled.

"Enough, but it's not like she downed it all at once. It seems it all hit her bloodstream at the same time or something. Weird." She said, and I vaguely recalled that she was at Harvard pre-med.

"Ness, do you feel sick?" Kate asked, leading us away from the music a bit.

"Not really. Just kind of like I'm floating or something." I said with a giggle. I could start to feel the alcohol burning itself out. So that's how booze affects vampires, I thought to myself.

"Do you want to go back to the school? It's nearly two anyway." Sarah asked.

"No, I want to go dance. Come on you guys, I'm fine. Let's just go enjoy the rest of the party." I said, managing to sound clearer than I had in the past couple hours.

Sarah and Kate exchanged a glance before shrugging. "Fine, but no more dancing with Aaron. You don't want to shoot your reputation to hell in the first weekend that you're here." Kate demanded.

When we got back into the crowd, we were immediately met by the guys. Caleb looked slightly relieved. He pulled Sarah into his arms, "Where'd you guys go?" He asked, and I wondered if he ever lightened up. I decided to try my little trick again. I thought the inhibition-repression might help.

Immediately I was flooded with pictures of a barn on fire, shooting sparks into the night sky as it burned. I quickly shook myself out of it, staring at Caleb- wondering what that could have possibly been about.

Kate was answering his question. "-to talk some sense into Nessie. Apparently I miscalculated the amount she should drink." She said lightly, patting my shoulder jokingly. Tyler laughed. So did Pogue, draining the last of whatever had been in his red cup.

Tyler stage whispered to me behind his hand "I'm sure you'll soon find out why I don't drink, if you haven't already." I laughed.

"Not yet, but I'm sure I'll get there." I replied. Reid and Caleb were both looking a little displeased, but my attention span wasn't long enough to figure out why.

"Alright, time to clear out, I'm sure the cops will be showing up at any minute. Pogue, Kate, I'll drop you guys off at your place." He said, and it took me a moment to realize that he wasn't letting them drive with alcohol in their systems, and my respect for the youngest son of Ipswich increased even more. It also occurred to me that Caleb and Reid must not have partied as hard as I thought they did, because Tyler had no problem letting them get in their cars and drive away.

By the time I made it into my bed, I was back to my right state of mind. Apparently alcohol ran through my system much faster than a normal person's. I remembered clearly all the events of the night, and drifted off to sleep half confused and half appalled with my behavior.

**well....?**


	4. Chapter 4

**I know, I know, I said it'd be a while, but I just had to get this one last chapter done first... it's probably the most important chapter plot-wise that I've written for this story so far. Now I'm going to have to take the rest of the week to work on other stuff, but hopefully there will be another chapter next week. Thanks to those who reviewed! Keep 'em coming!**

**Disclaimer in chapter two!! **

**(sub-disclaimer: Seth's ringtone is not mine either, props for whoever can guess which movie its from :) )**

_**~wwsadd**  
_

New Questions

I was glad to wake up the next morning with no hint of a hangover. Sarah was not so lucky, and I tried hard not to wake her. After crawling out of my bed quietly, I slipped on the most comfortable clothes I could find, and went in search of breakfast. Padding down the hall barefoot and chilly, I hurried toward the dining hall.

The place was nearly deserted on a Saturday, which was sort of a relief. I grabbed some orange juice and plopped down at an empty table. I drank the acidic juice quickly, realizing that though I didn't have a headache, my mouth was extremely dry.

I began to wonder if everyone went home or if it was just so empty because it was too early for them to be awake after such a long night. My cell phone started ringing then, startling me out of my daze. _'Let's get down to business, to de-feat the Huns. Did they send me daugh-ters, when I asked for sons?'_

I snorted, and asked myself why I let Seth pick out his own ring tone. "Talk to me." I answered cockily, trying to hide my excitement.

I heard deep chuckling on the other end of the line. "Well aren't you just so cool? I was only calling to check up on you Ness, orders from the boss-man and all that. But maybe you're too high and mighty to talk to little old me, I'll let you get back to your prestigious boarding school friends." He said, and I could hear the effort it took him not to burst out laughing in the middle of his tirade.

I giggled. "Did you really just call yourself little?" I asked, envisioning my large werewolf friend, who towered over me. Not that it was hard to do, me being 5'1 and all, but even so, _little_ was the last word in the world that came to my mind to describe Seth Clearwater.

"Ouch. Thanks for that Nessie." He muttered, while I laughed some more. But then his previous words made their way through my brain. Maybe I wasn't as clear as I had thought.

"Jake asked you to check up on me? He can't do it himself? What, not only does he not visit anymore, but now he sends you to make his phone calls too? I think you've been demoted Seth." I said, with a small growl for good measure. I should have been happy just to know that Jake was even still alive, but apparently being around humans had shortened my patience level.

"Whoa there Renesmee, calm down. What's gotten into you?" He asked, and I could just imagine the condescending look that matched that tone.

"A few things actually, but that's not really the point." I muttered darkly.

"Wait a second, what?" Seth voice whipped through the words, he almost sounded panicked.

"Like I said, that's not really the point. And seriously Seth, it's none of your business. Tell Jake that if he isn't going to be here like he promised, then the least he can do is leave me the hell alone. I'm sick of being treated like a misbehaving child by everyone! At least my new _'boarding school'_ friends don't find the need to talk down to me like I'm still six years old." I said, keeping the volume low, but it was impossible to doubt that I meant every word.

Seth was growing impatient too, and I wasn't really surprised. I had never been that bad tempered with him. With Jake? All the time, but Jake understood me better. Or, at least, I thought he had. Now it was hard for me to imagine that he even cared at all.

"Well maybe we'll all stop treating you like a child when you stop acting like one." He said shortly.

"Maybe I'll stop acting like one when you stop treating me like one." I twisted his words back around childishly.

Suddenly he was laughing. Apparently he was under the impression that I was trying to be funny. "Wow Nessie, being at that school sure has… _improved_ your social skills. Your parents will be so pleased."

I started laughing too. "Well, practice makes perfect!" I quipped.

"Okay okay, you win. But seriously, you know Jake is just doing what he thinks is best. Although he wasn't a huge fan of this whole boarding school idea. I thought he was going to tear Rosalie into pieces when he found out. Especially since you're on the other side of the country. At least Alice and Jasper moved into a house near there, right?" He asked.

I was taken by surprise at the depth of his knowledge. "Yep. They're about an hour away, just renting a place, you know, in case I royally screw up. My parents expect me home like, every other weekend though. This whole separation thing is harder on them than it is on me." I explained quietly.

After the initial rough start to the conversation, it went on pretty smoothly, with Seth teasing me about this and that, and me telling him everything I could without raising any suspicion. By the time I hung up, almost an hour had passed. I hadn't realized how homesick I really was.

In a spur of the moment decision, I decided to drive to the small house Alice and Jasper were living in for the time being. I could use some of Alice's never-ending optimism.

Instead of bothering Sarah, I thought I'd just shoot her a text message later, and let her know what was up. I headed to the parking lot, keys in one hand, cell phone in the other. I was shocked when I got there to see a man, who seemed to be in his early twenties, leaning against the passenger side.

Approaching cautiously, I tried to stay calm. "Can I help you?" I asked, trying to be polite, while trying not to let my fear show at the same time.

The man was not bad looking. He too fit the profile of 'tall dark and handsome'. He grinned though, and it was like ice shot down my spine. Something about his person seemed distinctly evil to me, and I was in no position to fight if he was more than human.

"Why don't we get in your lovely car here, and I'll explain." He said, smiling maliciously.

There was no one around, and I could tell that humans, even those of authority, would not deter this guy from getting what he wanted. I told myself to breathe, and a plan started to form in my mind. If I could make it to Alice and Jasper's… Jasper would be more than this guy's match. Jasper could beat _anyone_.

"Please." I said, hitting the automatic unlock button and gesturing for him to climb in. I started the ignition and kept my eyes focused on the rearview mirror. I felt like a deer walking stupidly into a Hummer's headlights, and I kept up a string of prayers that I would get out of this alive.

I was not a particularly religious person, but Carlisle had made sure that I received some basic instruction, and in times of trouble I liked to think that there was a higher power out there watching out for us. If anyone deserved divine protection, it was my family, who fought so hard to be good; every moment of every day was a struggle for them- a struggle they were winning.

As I began racing down the winding highway, I rolled down the windows to let the crisp morning air carry more oxygen to my struggling lungs. Finally I turned to my guest. "Okay, not to be rude, but what's your deal?" I asked.

The man laughed, and the sound was full of malice. I was filled with an immediate longing for my long-lost best friend. What I wouldn't do to have Jake there with me, protecting me from this mysterious new evil. "Let me introduce myself first off, I'm Chase, Chase Collins. I guess you could call me the long lost fifth Son of Ipswich." He said, a dark grin pulling his face into a twisted joke of a smile.

I gasped, and let my foot press down a little harder on the gas. I was already doing nearly a hundred miles an hour, but I knew the Porsche could go faster than that, and the sooner I got to Jasper, the better. "What do you mean? Look, I've met Caleb and the others, they seem like good people, but whatever your issue is with them, let's just leave it between you and them, alright? This isn't my fight, so is there any way to just leave me out of it? I really don't need any more trouble." I muttered, keeping my eyes fixed ahead.

Chase's harsh laugh filled the small car. "Maybe you should have told _them_ that before they dragged you into this. Like it or not sweetheart, this just turned into your fight. I hope you're better at this game than Sarah was, although I did get a kick out of burning down Putnam Barn, with her inside. Oh the good times are just going to keep on coming." He said wickedly.

Suddenly Caleb's memories of a frightful fire made sense. As did his reluctance to let Sarah out of his sight for five minutes. This was his greatest fear, because he had let Sarah get dragged into some fight with this psycho that was currently sitting in my car, tossing out threats left and right, none of which I understood.

I sighed, "Look buddy, I really don't know what you're talking about, but I think you need some serious help. There's a name for your problem, it's called pyromania, and they have ways to fix that now." I bit out; still hoping the ignorance card might come to my rescue.

He looked surprised for a moment, and then roared with genuine laughter. "You are one of a kind Renesmee Cullen. I sincerely hope that I don't have to kill you, because that would be such a pity. Pass on the message to your new friends. Tell them the battle's back on, and I have a new target." He whispered, trailing his finger up and down my arm. Goosebumps spread all over; I almost shivered, from disgust. I didn't want any part of him touching me.

His eyes turned flat black, and he disappeared, literally, one moment he was sitting in the passenger seat, the next I was in an empty car, racing down the highway at a hundred and ten miles an hour.

I waited for the panic attack to hit. Surely with as big an emotional rollercoaster I had been on in the last couple days, one had to be coming. My life was being threatened by an unknown demonic- being. My best friend was getting on my last nerve, and my roommate along with all my new friends had just pulled me into a massive battle with god even knew how many dangers. This was _not_ going to go over well at home.

By the time I reached the small but expensive looking house, I had decided to keep the more delicate details of my predicament to myself. I would concentrate on talking about school and about Jake. Surely I could convince Jasper that my nervousness was just fear for Jake's safety.

Knocking on the door lightly, I was unsurprised when it opened within ten seconds. Alice's face stretched into a large smile, as she jumped excitedly up and down. "Jazz!! Nessie's here!" She cried, pulling me inside and dragging me to the living room. I fell down to the white leather sofa, and Alice sat next to me quickly, bouncing up and down in anticipation.

And then I was filled with a peaceful calm, and I turned to smile at my uncle. "Hey Jasper!" I greeted him. He took a seat facing me, in the matching armchair.

"Hey Renesmee. You're sure up and about early; don't tell me you stayed in last night like a good little girl." He teased in his quiet way.

I laughed, and appreciated the irony that this was the safest thing to share with them.

"Not exactly. Okay, not at all." I smirked. "My roommate dragged me out two nights in a row. The first night we hung out at this place called Nicky's, where all the local kids go on weeknights. And last night we went down to this party at this place called the Dells. It was really neat. Sarah introduced me to a bunch of new people, and we didn't get back to  
Spencer until almost three this morning." I admitted.

Alice giggled. "Well aren't you little miss popular? Tell me more about this party! What did you wear?" She asked enthusiastically.

I described my outfit in detail, and Sarah's for good measure. After getting Alice's blessing on that, it was time for the unavoidable. Jasper quirked an eyebrow. "Was there drinking at this party?" He asked, immediately taking on the role of parent. Growing up it was more like I'd had four dads and three moms. All of the guys treated me like their daughter, as did Esme and Rosalie. Alice was content to be my coconspirator, for which I was grateful.

I tried to look remorseful. "Honestly? Yes." I answered.

Alice too gave me a stern look. "And…?"

I sighed. "And alcohol has strange affects on vampires." I said, with a hesitant grin.

Alice started laughing while Jasper groaned. "Your dad is going to flip his lid." Alice managed to gasp between giggles.

"Well, I was kind of hoping we could maybe not tell him?" I asked.

Jasper shook his head. "Fine by me. He's bound to find out sooner or later, but no need to bring down the wrath that is Edward any sooner than strictly necessary. Probably not your brightest idea though Ness."

"I won't make a habit of it, I promise. I was just curious." I said, defending my actions though I somewhat regretted them.

A short while later, Alice abruptly stood up. She had her car keys in her hand. "I'm running into town, its lunch time and we have absolutely nothing fit for human consumption in this place." She sang, dancing out to the driveway.

I was grateful for her thoughtfulness, but not because I was particularly hungry. I wanted to talk to Jasper without Alice there. Besides Emmett, she was my favorite relative, but there was something I need to ask Jasper, and I needed it to stay between us.

Jasper was never one for words, and we sat in a comfortable silence for a few minutes after we heard Alice race off. Finally I got up my courage. "Uncle Jasper?" I asked hesitantly. He looked up quickly, catching my nervousness in my voice and radiating from my body.

"Everything okay Ness?" He asked quietly.

"Oh, yeah, of course. I just was wondering, there are some old legends at Spencer, and I was curious if there was any… you know, truth behind them." I said, determined not to let on that I was pretty sure there was some serious dark magic at my school, and that I was in way over my head.

He chuckled. Jasper was not one for the spotlight, but he knew more about the myths and legends of this country than anyone I'd ever met. He'd been around since the Civil War, back when Carlisle was still in Europe. He was the supreme authority on American magic.

"Do you have a particular myth in mind, or am I going to have to guess?" He asked jokingly.

I tried to smile. "I guess they call themselves the Sons of Ipswich?" I said slowly.

"Ah. Yes. I know their story. It dates back hundreds of years, before this country was even a country. There were five of them, by the names of Putnam, Danvers, Perry, Garwin, and Simms. They formed a Covenant of silence to protect their magic. They were supposed to be the supernatural protectors of New England, and they did a fairly good job until the witch craze hit in Salem.

"John Putnam turned traitor and betrayed his 'brothers' as they referred to each other. He was killed, effectively ending the fifth bloodline. After that they were never the same. They had to hide their magic, and its perverse affects became harder and harder for them to handle. Now they are said to just be faint reflections of their ancestors, although their powers are still said to pack quite a punch." He finished his little narrative, and laughed when he saw the enthralled look on my face.

Suddenly everything fell into place. Chase was somehow a descendent of John Putnam, traitor. He wanted revenge on the others. "What do you mean, perverse affects?" I asked curiously.

"When they turn eighteen, they 'ascend'." Jasper explained, making little quote marks in the air with his fingers. "They reach full potential with their Power. Basically they can make anything they want happen, in the blink of an eye. The downside is that it's incredibly addicting, and once they start using, it's hard for them to stop. The Power basically wears their bodies out at triple the speed of a normal person's. The more they use, the faster they age. It's a nasty business, they almost all die before they hit fifty, some before they hit thirty." He said darkly.

Fear seized my heart. My friends were only going to make it to thirty? Fifty if they were lucky? There was something seriously wrong with that in my mind; I was used to the thought of eternity. "Wow. That's one heck of an intense story Jasper. You should totally tell it at dinner parties." I teased, ready to change the subject before he could ask about my inexplicable interest.

Jasper laughed too, and then Alice was back, bringing way more food than I would ever be able to eat by myself. The rest of the afternoon passed quickly, and by twilight I was ready to head back to school. "We'll update your parents, and don't worry; we'll leave out the good stuff!" Alice said, pecking me lightly on the cheek as I turned to make my way to my car.

I waved to them both before driving off, and I turned up my favorite C.D., half afraid that Chase was going to reappear, and knowing _exactly_ how scared I should be if he chose to do so. I was no match for the lost Son of Ipswich.

I sighed with relief when I made it back to the parking lot, and I made my way as quickly as I could to my room, not slowing my pace until I reached the door. I heard voices inside, too many for it to just be Sarah and Tyler. For now I needed some time to think through everything Jasper had told me, and to reflect on Chase's threat before I brought up anything to my new friends. I resolved to keep my mouth shut about my new knowledge, and my new questions would just have to wait.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey everyone!! I'm back!! I was at home for spring break all week, and i couldn't log on to fanfic, but i did get a lot of story written!! I have only a couple left to write!! So, the speed i upload is going to depend on how many reviews i get, so make sure to tell me what you think!! This is a Reid-Rainy chapter all the way, enjoy!!  
Disclaimer in chapter two!!**

_**wwsadd**  
_

New Revelations, that lead to New Complications

I found my way to the library, and stayed there into the early hours of the mornings, pouring over old books about Ipswich's history, the different legends, and tried to find some way out of the mess I was in.

I came up completely empty. There was not much that made sense that I didn't already know. As I sat there, I also contemplated my situation with Reid. It seemed to me that I didn't have any right to be angry that he was keeping such a big secret when I was obviously doing the same thing. What hurt was his rejection of the idea that we might actually be good for each other.

I had seen so many relationships, Alice and Jasper were the least public, but they would die for each other, and it was apparent in their interactions. Esme and Carlisle were, aside from the most doting grandparents in the world, also the most passionate people I knew, and they brought out the best in each other. It was obvious how in love Emmett and Rose were- they were shameless about it. And then there were my parents. The star-crossed human and vampire who's love should probably be turned into a novel for hopelessly romantic teenage girls. No one could hold a candle to the depth of their devotion.

And my new, but very true, friends. Sarah and Caleb reminded me of what my parents must have been like before they had me. He was overprotective, but for good reason- she was dragged into his world of nightmares. Pogue and Kate seemed like they had been together for years, despite their youth, they acted like they must have been childhood sweethearts- they would last.

I had never had a boyfriend, I went to a good sized high school in Seattle, but it always just seemed like I was some sort of an outcast. Not that people disliked me, they just always seemed in awe- and it was hard to have real relationships when they couldn't form coherent sentences around you. And up until I was twelve, I had always had Jake, and hadn't cared about making other friends. I felt content to stay at home with my family- and Jake was always around the house. I also quickly got acquainted with Jake's pack. Seth was like a big brother, a major pain in the ass, but someone I knew would always be there when I needed him. The rest of the pack treated me like it was completely normal for me- a small half-vampire- to hang around with a larger than average wolf pack.

Jake had been around for as long as I could remember. He was my mother's best friend, and he was my best friend too. I knew it was unfair for me to be angry with him, he had never, ever done anything to intentionally hurt me, but when he left without saying goodbye, it cut me deep. The last four years he had been in and out, always checking up on me, sending me letters, or Seth, to let me know that he still cared.

I had stopped hunting when he left. I just didn't want to do it without him there, competing for who could catch the biggest grizzly bear. I could function without blood. Sometimes it felt like I needed a cough drop, but other than the minor irritation, it didn't much bother me. I think it made my dad happy anyway, he didn't want me to have to survive in the same distasteful way they did, and besides, Bella loved cooking real food.

There was never anything I couldn't tell Jake, and he deserved a best friend award, not an angry self-centered little girl who used his friends as a portal to yell at him.

But I had to focus on the present, and on the future. Jake apparently had some serious problems to take care of, and I'm sure we'd still be friends in a month, or a year, or however long it took him to sort out his issues, and for me to sort out mine. And right now I could use someone to lean on. No matter how strong I physically was, no matter how quick I was intellectually, I was still just a sixteen year old with a very large, very scary threat on the horizon.

Reid Garwin was the first new person who I had really felt like myself around in years. He thought he was a total badass, but I could see through it. He needed someone there too- not someone like Sarah or Kate, who were too sweet and easily taken advantage of.

He needed someone who would call him on his bullshit and who could stand up to him when he was wrong- someone who would defend him when he was right. Someone who could put him in his place, but someone he wouldn't resent for it. I wanted more than anything to tell him about my secret. I wanted him to open up to me about his so I could tell him about Chase, and have him keep me safe. But I had to be braver than that- I couldn't play into Chase's hands like that.

"We were planning on meeting at Nicky's at nine. Ty's gonna stay here though, he has a test tomorrow morning." Sarah said with a sigh.

I shrugged. "That's cool, we'll take my car." I said with a wicked grin.

She raised her eyebrows. "Should I be scared?"

I tried to keep a straight face. "Nah, I mean, it's only a felony if you triple the speed limit, and they just don't think that out so well… if I'm driving that fast, who on Earth is going to catch me?"

By the time we walked into Nicky's, I thought Sarah's heart had stopped at least half a dozen times. Making our way over to what seemed to be the "regular" table, I couldn't stop laughing. Between Alice and my dad, I had quickly been turned into a speed demon, no pun intended.

"Damn, so we didn't scare off the new girl as thoroughly as we thought." Pogue said, when we finally got all the way to the table. I stuck out my tongue at him childishly.

Caleb was giving Sarah a puzzled look. "Are you okay babe?" He asked, overly concerned as always.

Sarah still hadn't spoken. Her eyes still looked like golf balls. She nodded slightly, but looked a little sick.

I couldn't help but double over laughing. She glared at me for a minute, still looking too nauseous to speak. I jumped when I heard Reid's voice from behind me. It looked like he had just gone to the bar to get a round of drinks.

"So Rainy has decided to grace us with her presence at last I see." He intoned, setting four glasses filled with a dark liquid on the table.

I rolled my eyes. "I heard that you missed me." I said sarcastically.

That broke Sarah out of her reverie. She had grabbed one of the glasses off the table and downed half of it at once.

"I am never, _ever_ getting in a car with you ever again." She gasped.

I snickered. "I told you they wouldn't catch us. In my defense, I did warn you that I could make it go that fast. You just had to argue."

"Who was trying to catch you?" Caleb asked, a slightly panicked look to his eyes. I felt sorry for him, always fearing the worst, and even more so because he was right to have those fears.

Pogue looked at him like he was in second grade. Clapping a hand on his shoulder he said slowly, "The cops, man. You know, the ones that drive those obnoxious cars and don't have any sense of humor? … No? Figures."

With that, he grabbed Kate's hand with one of his, and they each took a glass from the table and headed off to god knows where.

Sarah was still glaring at me. "How did you even get your license?" She snapped.

I kept my face as straight as I could. "Who said anything about a license?" I asked.

Her eyes, if possible, got wider. Reid and Caleb were both laughing their heads off. "Relax Sarah, she's kidding." Reid choked out, throwing his arm lightly around my shoulders. "Right?"

I giggled, elbowing him in the side. "Well that's for me to know and you to never find out." I said with a grin.

"Is that so?" He asked, amused.

I nodded. "Pretty much! Hmmm… if you can beat me at pool, I'll answer that, and any other questions you might have." I challenged. His eyes lit up. "But if I beat you… you have answer my questions."

For a minute he pretended to consider it before he got the cocky look back on his face. "Deal." He said, holding out one fingerless-glove covered hand. Instead of shaking it, I used it to pull him over to the pool table.

"Okay… so how do I do this?" I asked, looking between the stick in my hand, and the old green table. Reid smirked. Lightly he put one hand on the small of my back and the other he used to show me how line up a shot.

"So you aim," He said, "and then shoot." He continued, having curled his fingers around mine and guided my arm back. Stepping away from me, he watched as the colored balls scattered across the table and spun around.

For the next two and a half hours I laughed as he got angrier and angrier. My reflexes were quicker than humans' and my brain worked through different strategies far faster than he was prepared for. As I sank the last shot of our fifth game (and my fifth consecutive win), he groaned.

"You cheated." He pouted.

"How?" I demanded with mock-outrage. I had won fair and square- well, as fair as can be expected when pitting a half-vampire against a… witch? I couldn't even think of a better word to describe them, and the thought made me laugh out loud.

"You were distracting me." He said, putting down the cue and pulling me toward the dance floor.

"Don't blame me for your lack of concentration skills." I said, waving at Sarah and Caleb as we made it to the center of the dance floor.

"Okay, okay. So, Rainy Cullen," He said, pulling me closer so I could hear him over the pounding music. "First question?"

I pretended to think. "Well… hmmm. Why do they call you four the Sons of Ipswich?" I asked, trying to be nonchalant. I knew he wasn't going to come right out and tell me, but it was worth a shot.

His smile froze momentarily, but he recovered quickly, and someone less observant wouldn't have noticed. "Because we're wicked cool." He muttered.

I rolled my eyes. "Fine, don't tell me." I cast around for another question.

He laughed. "Seriously, it's just some stupid legend. People around here take it seriously sometimes, because they can't tell the difference between real and make-believe. Our families have always been friends though, we grew up together- they're like my brothers." He said, and I noted how good a liar he was. No wonder he was so good with the girls, he could lie through his teeth for hours and they would have no idea.

"Can I ask one?" He asked, donning the puppy dog look again. "I know that wasn't the deal but…"

I shrugged, "Sure."

And we spent the rest of the night dancing and playing twenty questions. Well, more like a hundred and twenty questions. Our bodies moved together in perfect sync to the music as it constantly changed pace, a magic of a totally different kind.

By one-thirty, Caleb caught Reid's eye and beckoned us over to where they were sitting with Kate and Pogue. Sarah looked about to pass out, and I wondered if she would ever get any better at the whole 'all things in moderation' practice. "We're heading back to my place; I'll bring Sarah back to school before class tomorrow." He told me, pulling out his keys.

I nodded. "See ya then!" I said brightly, laughing when she groaned and glared at me.

Not five minutes after they left, Pogue was getting ready to go as well. "I'm beat, and we've got class tomorrow too." He said pathetically. Reid sighed and mimicked shooting himself. "Peace out guys, catch you later." He finished, pulling Kate toward the door.

Reluctantly, Reid headed for the open door too, pulling me along. "They're right, tomorrow is going to be hell." He muttered, as we walked out into the frosty darkness.

I was in an exceptionally good mood, despite the fact that some psycho-killer with a vendetta was after me. Tonight had been perfect. "Well," I said, hopping up to sit on the hood of my car. "You just have to decide if tonight was worth it then."

"When did you get so smart?" He asked, leaning against bumper next to me.

"Uh… I think it was around the… third? Game of pool that I kicked your ass in." I said with a grin.

He turned to face me, "I don't think so, I totally let you win." He argued, placing his hands on the hood of the car on either side of me. His face was a foot from mine.

I stuck my nose up in the air. "Whatever helps you sleep at night Reid." I said haughtily. "But judging by the look on your face earlier, I'd say that's a ton of crap- you totally got owned!"

"I'll have you know that I had never lost a game of pool before in my life. Until tonight. And you didn't even know how to play!" He said exasperatedly.

"Look on the bright side, at least it was me you were losing to, I mean, think if you had just got whipped by Aaron." I pointed out.

He raised his eyebrows. "That would so never happen. And speaking of Abbot… what the hell happened Friday night? Was that really necessary?"

I leaned toward him a couple inches. "Jealous?"

There was a moment of complete silence; it looked like he might even be blushing slightly. Finally he sighed. "Tell _anyone_ and I will kick your annoying little butt." He muttered, trying to look menacing.

"Well…" I was nervous, but this still seemed right to me somehow. "You know what the solution to your problem is, right?" I asked, leaning toward him a little more. There was barely half a foot of space between our faces.

"Yeah, kicking Aaron's sorry ass into the middle of next week." He muttered, but then turned serious. "Look, Rainy, you… are unbelievable. You're smart, you're funny, you're sexy as hell. And there's something mysterious and familiar about you that drives me up the wall. But I'm not Prince Charming. I've never done the faithful, perfect boyfriend thing; I'm a pretty big screw up in that department. And I really don't want to hurt you. Save yourself the disappointment, and just walk away." He said, taking a few steps back from the car.

I was more than a little confused, but what I did know was that I was willing to put my heart on the line, knowing how vulnerable it would make me. At first I had thought that it was just the danger, the mystery that emanated from him that drew me in. But I could see that he was just as scared to let himself care about me too, and that's what sealed the deal for me.

"Ever stop for ten seconds and think that I might not be looking for a Prince Charming? If I was, would I really be wasting so much time with you? I don't want a fairytale Reid. I just want to feel something real. Let me know when you stop being a coward and want that too." I said, yanking my door open.

I'm not sure what happened, but the next second my door was shut and I was pressed up against it. I could feel the electricity in the air almost crackling as Reid kissed me again. He was not as hesitant as he had been that first time; his lips were rough against mine, his arms holding me tightly to him. My hands tightened on his shoulders, my senses all in overdrive. I couldn't breathe, I couldn't think, and I'd never felt so amazing.

When he finally pulled back, there was a genuine smile on his face. "What are you, and how are you so perfect?" He said, keeping his body pressed against mine, his arms still around me, his forehead pressed to mine.

My heart stopped for a moment, and all I wanted was to give him an honest answer, but I knew now was not the time. Instead I smiled softly. "People aren't perfect, Reid, it's just how you view them that makes them perfect to you."

He kissed me again lightly, but my blood was still rushing faster than I would have thought possible. "I think I'm going to have to disagree with you on that one." He whispered, finally releasing me.

Climbing in my car, I started the engine and let it idle, watching him cross the lot to his 67 Chevy Impala, a badass car for someone who was perfect at acting the part.

The next day, Sarah bombarded me with questions.

"Alright, alright! So, last night I beat Reid at pool and we danced, and everything was like, perfect. Then when we were outside after you all left, and Aaron's name got into the conversation, he asked me what I was thinking Friday night, and I asked if he was jealous, he said I better not tell anyone. Then he got all weird and told me that he wasn't Prince Charming, and that I was just going to end up getting hurt, so I should just walk away… then I yelled at him- I told him I didn't want a prince, cuz I'm sure not a princess, and I just wanted something real…" I trailed off.

Sarah stared at me disbelievingly. "Reid? Reid Garwin admitted to being jealous, and then passed up a chance for an easy hookup? What have you _done_ to him?" She asked, completely sidetracked. I giggled. "Wait, then what happened?"

"Well…" I said, blushing, not able to say it out loud.

Sarah started laughing. "Oh, so that's how it is. I was right though, you definitely know how to handle yourself. This is so perfectly perfect! Welcome to the Sisters of Ipswich." She said with a huge grin

And everything seemed to fall into place.

_______

**review! you know you want to!!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey guys!! So i officially have the rest of this story written... and the first chapter to the sequel done as well! there are still like, five or six chapters left of this to post though. i just needed to clean out some folders, so i uploaded this one. I'm kind of second guessing this story at this point though, i'm not getting many reviews at all... *is sad*  
please let me know if you're liking it- or hating it, or whatever!**

**enjoy!**

**(disclaimer in chapter two)**

_**~wwsadd**  
_

New Emotions

After that night, it was easy to put the Chase thing out of my mind. Who knew what he would or wouldn't do? Apparently he was too afraid to just confront the guys, and I figured he must just talk a lot. I decided not to say anything else about him until I had a good reason to do so.

In the next month everything just fell into place. I called back home, updated everyone on the trivial parts of my life, and came up with endless excuses not to return to Seattle. My parents took off on another honeymoon, to some Island in the Caribbean- I was happy for them, they hadn't had a break from me since the day I was born. It was easy to convince everyone else that I was having too good a time at school to fly back home. It wasn't even that much of a lie.

The week after Reid had shoved me up against my car and kissed me senseless I heard countless whispers around the halls at school. _The_ Reid Garwin had a girlfriend. All I could do was roll my eyes and smirk- I had tamed the bad boy, and I hadn't even meant to. Thankfully that aura of thrilling danger didn't disappear- every time I was around him it was hard for me to breathe, and my senses went into overdrive.

We alternated between Nicky's and the Dells, depending on the night of the week. I never drank again, having no desire to break my promise to Jasper. Aaron Abbot was not a happy camper, which just made both Reid and Tyler laugh hysterically every time it was brought up.

Dancing quickly became my favorite thing to do, Reid's body moving in sync with mine was nearly as amazing as the adrenaline rush that overtook me every time his lips touched mine. Around his friends, he still acted like a player, but I wouldn't have it any other way. That demeanor was part of the reason I fell for him, I felt drawn to the risk it presented.

I had to give him credit, for as bad as his track record supposedly was, I almost never saw him so much as flirt with another girl. All in all, the whole having a boyfriend thing was going quite well for me.

"What do you think?" I asked Tyler, modeling my outfit for the night. Sarah was already finishing her makeup. This had become a much loved routine for the three of us. Sarah and I would let Tyler pick out our clothes before going out each night. Sometimes we looked ridiculous, but it was such a fun game that we did it every night anyway.

"Only if you wear your stripper boots, and promise to step on Aaron again." Tyler said, a sweeter version of Reid's signature smirk on his face. I stopped brushing my hair and threw the brush at him.

"They aren't stripper boots! They would only fall in that category if I failed to wear anything else with them." I said, laughing as I adjusted the ragged denim skirt I was wearing. I also had on bright green fishnets, which thankfully matched the tank top I was wearing, but still made me feel like a clown.

Nicky's was officially one of my favorite places in the whole world. The music was pulsing when the three of us walked into the crowded bar, Sarah and I customarily linking our arms with Tyler's.

"Nice, Baby Boy. Very classy." Caleb laughed appreciatively, when we got over to our regular table. He jumped down and straightened Sarah's cowgirl hat on her head, laughing harder when he caught sight of the western style cowboy boots that matched.

"I try." Tyler said loftily. I shoved him lightly.

"You're lucky I like you, I feel like a damn leprechaun." I joked.

Pogue chuckled, his arm lightly over Kate's shoulders. "You look like one too! Your beard could still use a little work, but I'm sure you'll get there." He snorted.

I picked up one of Caleb's fries and threw it, effectively hitting him in the face. "That was lame. At least I can make a joke that other people find funny." I said with a smirk, as everyone burst into laughter at the look that had remained on Pogue's face when the fry hit him. "I win!" I said brightly.

Pogue grumbled good naturedly before grabbing Kate and heading to the dance floor. "Pool?" Tyler asked, nodding toward the table that was currently empty. Reid slid down from his high stool, momentarily taking in my entire outfit.

Smiling appreciatively he kissed me lightly on the cheek as he passed. "You make one hot leprechaun." He whispered, before following Tyler to the table.

I hopped up into his empty seat as Sarah pulled herself up into the one Pogue had vacated. "Can you believe it's already October?" I asked, noticing the subtle reminders that the Halloween dance was coming up in a few short weeks.

Sarah sighed. "It seems like a decade has passed since last October." She said, with a slight shudder that I wouldn't have noticed if I was human. Caleb squeezed her hand tighter. I had been practicing with my gift, but I didn't let the images fill my mind now. I had seen Putnam Barn burning one too many times for my comfort. _I_ was having nightmares about it now.

Changing the subject lightly, I cast around for a brighter topic of conversation. "So, Tyler's birthday is coming up in a couple of weeks… someone should throw a party or something."

Apparently I went from bad to worse, and I remembered too late that this was his eighteenth birthday- he would be 'ascending'. I didn't know much about it, I had almost no information to go on, but it sure sounded scary.

Caleb looked across the bar to the pool tables. "You can throw a party, but let's really surprise him and do it the day before." He said, and although he was a good liar, I could tell he was worried about his friend.

I glanced over too, his anxiety spreading to me. If the others survived it… was Tyler really in that much danger? I couldn't imagine him not being around anymore, picking out our clothes, bringing us lunch when we didn't want to eat in the overcrowded cafeteria, and giving us so much crap about our boyfriends that we half wanted to kill him but mostly just loved him to death.

Not wanting to think about it anymore, I hopped down from my stool, straightening my skirt and plastering a smile on my face. "Right, me and Sarah will plan an awesome party- tomorrow. I'm gonna go dance." I said, walking away from the table and the feeling of gloom that surrounded it.

Some hardcore rock song came on the jukebox, and the dance floor was suddenly full. I usually didn't like dancing by myself, but at the moment it was just a good way to release stress. Everything was fine until I heard a vaguely familiar voice behind me.

"Wow babe, you look… well, like a damn sexy fairy or something. Minus the wings." A very drunk Aaron said, stepping a little close for my comfort.

"Hmm… well, thanks. I think. Now, if you don't mind…" I started, trying to slip past him.

"What's the rush? How 'bout a dance?" He slurred, grabbing at my wrist. I growled under my breath. This was _not_ going to end well.

"I don't think she wants to dance with you." Pogue snapped, appearing out of thin air. Aaron didn't release my arm. Pogue advanced a little. "Don't make me mess up that pretty-boy face of yours Abbot. Back _off_."

"I don't think I was talking to you, Parry. Mind your own business." He growled, turning back to me. "What, you didn't mind dancing with me that night at the Dells… hell you seemed really into me then. What changed? Oh right, you're getting walked all over by Garwin-" I'd heard enough.

Sighing, I created a loose fist with my free hand. Pulling my arm back, I swung forward, trying not to put too much force behind it- as much as I would have loved to put him in a coma, now was not the time- there were too many witnesses. Aaron doubled over, grabbing his face, his whimpering barely audible over the blaring music.

"Just in case that was too subtle for you Aaron, it means I _don't_ want to dance. Leave me the hell alone, or next time I'll hit you _really_ hard." I snapped, stepping lightly over him.

Pogue and Kate were both staring at me in disbelief. I laughed. "What, you're surprised I can take care of myself? Thanks for that though, I appreciate it." I said to Pogue.

Kate threw her arms around my neck, giggling. "You are my favorite person in the whole world!" Her boyfriend still seemed to be in shock. I grabbed his hand and pulled him back to Caleb's table. Kate was now laughing hysterically, and I couldn't keep from snickering.

Reid and Tyler had cleaned out everyone's pockets at the pool table, and were back talking to Caleb and Sarah. Kate was jumping up and down in excitement, and Sarah immediately stopped their conversation.

"What just happened?" She asked, looking between Kate, Pogue (who still had this stupid-shocked look on his face) and I. The others looked over in interest now.

Kate couldn't stop laughing. I thought she was going to stop breathing soon. Pogue finally snapped out of it, and threw an arm lightly over my shoulders. "You just missed the best thing I have ever seen in my _life_." He said. He paused for effect, while everyone was still watching Kate laugh.

"And what was that?" Caleb said, finally turning to his best friend.

Kate tried to speak through her giggles. "Rainy… Aaron… _priceless_." Was all she managed to get out.

"Aaron?" Reid said, immediately on alert. Tyler looked around, as if trying to find him. "That's it, I'm kicking his ass."

I laughed again, realizing neither Pogue nor Kate were going to be telling the story any time soon, and not really needing Reid to get worked up over nothing. "Don't bother. I may or may not have just let my fist get acquainted with his face." I said slowly, shrugging nonchalantly.

No one spoke for a moment. "You just punched Aaron Abbot in the face?" Tyler finally managed to choke out, a look of awe on his face. Pogue nodded enthusiastically.

"You should have seen how fast he went down. I thought she might have knocked him out cold until he started crying like a girl." He said, tightening his arm over my shoulder, pulling me closer to him. "It was amazing."

"Well, apparently he doesn't understand 'no' unless you show him." I said shortly. Sarah was now laughing as hard as Kate, and Caleb was shaking his head, but the look on his face was a highly amused one.

Reid reached out and grabbed my hand, pulling me away from Pogue and over to where he was sitting. I climbed up, sitting lightly in his lap, shuddering when he growled quietly in my ear. "Have I told you that you're the most amazing person in the world?"

I smirked, "Not today." I whispered back. Kate and Sarah were still laughing, and Pogue was giving everyone a very meticulous play-by-play. Tyler looked over at me and grinned.

"You promised you'd step on him again, but this was way better." He said.

"Yeah, I guess I kind of out-did myself uh?" I asked with a laugh. The rest of the night passed quickly, and I didn't realize till I was back in my room that a light bruise had spread across my left knuckles. All in all, I decided, it was totally worth the trade.

Sarah and I did plan a surprise party for Tyler, I convinced her to make it the day after his birthday though, I knew they'd all be on edge the night before. By Thursday everything was planned, and we still had two weeks before the big day.

Friday was me and Reid's official 'one-month', a fact that I was ashamed to admit he remembered before I did. That night he showed up at my dorm, while I was struggling to get my hair to behave. Most of it was up, but it didn't want to stay that way.

I didn't understand why Tyler had insisted that I wear the stupid gold dress that I was so uncomfortable in. There was barely any fabric to it at all; Alice had bought it as a joke- when I told her I wasn't going to my junior prom. Ties laced up the back, like a ball gown, and the skirt was nearly transparent silk that billowed from my waist out to my toes.

When I opened the door, Reid's eyes went wide, but so did mine. I had never seen him dress formally before. I had never seen him without his fingerless gloves, with an actual button-down shirt on, tie in place. I stepped back lightly in the four-inch heels that matched my asinine dress and ushered him in.

He sat on my bed silently while I finished brushing on the light gold eye shadow I had stolen from Sarah. The dress was sleeveless; the thin halter strap wasn't going to cut it. I grabbed the jacket I could find that clashed least with what I was wearing, before I turned back to him.

"So, are you going to tell me where we are going? Or am I going to have to guess?" I asked, holding my hand out to pull him up from my bed. He seemed to snap out of some sort of trance.

"It's a surprise. Wow. Remind me to thank Baby Boy later." He said, keeping my hand and leading me out. I managed to pull my door shut before he pulled me outside, to his classic '67 Chevy. I loved his car, and I always wondered why he never drove.

He refused to tell me where we were going, and half an hour in I was starting to get impatient. He finally pulled up at an upscale hotel, in the heart of Boston. I raised an eyebrow, unsure of what to expect.

He threw his keys to the valet, and pulled me inside. My eyes went so wide I thought they were going to fall out of my head. The large ballroom looked like the inside of a palace. There were couples dancing all over, completely in sync with each other.

Using my hand to draw me closer to his body, he whispered in my ear. "I thought you'd like to _really_ go dancing." He said, and pulled me into the music. I was so thankful that I had learned all the old fashioned dances one afternoon when Rose decided it might be useful.

"How do you…?" I asked, not even knowing how to finish my question. He laughed, swinging me around, the gold in my dress whipping around in a sea of black, white, and dark blue.

"It's part of growing up in this social class. We didn't have a choice. I never really liked it until now." He said lightly, tightening his grip on my waist. I realized he must mean that all of them were subjected to this as kids- a kind of alternate universe that normal people didn't know existed. He was surprisingly skilled; he had some major talent in the dance department.

It was one of the best nights of my life, the dancing was different, but the feeling was the same- even intensified by the rigid rules of each dance. I thought my heart was going to explode, I was so happy. Reid was smiling too, not his usual smirk, but an honest to god smile, that lit up his icy blue eyes.

By the time we left, I could barely make it to his car without passing out. His arm around me was a welcome support. He reached for my hand as he took off down the dark street, lightly kissing the back of it. I worked to keep my eyes open. "That was so amazing Reid. I thought you said you weren't Prince Charming. I sure felt like a princess tonight." I sighed sleepily.

He laughed lightly. "I wasn't, I never wanted to be before. But you deserve a prince." He said simply.

I giggled. "I don't know about that." He shook his head in disagreement, lacing his fingers through mine while he kept one hand on the steering wheel. "It was one of the best nights of my life though. Thank you."

When he dropped me off at my door, he pulled out a small box; it was a gold that almost matched my dress. Opening it, I gasped. Inside was a small silver and white gold sun, with a hook on it, to attach to something.

"It's for that charm bracelet you never take off." He said, pulling at my wrist. He attached it between the wooden wolf and the diamond heart. "Because you remind me of the Sun." He explained simply.

With a small burst of energy, I threw my arms around his neck, and crashed my lips to his. His arms went around me, pulling me up against him. We started to get carried away, and he pulled back with a soft chuckle.

"I take it that you like it." He smirked. I could feel a slight blush in my cheeks.

"It's perfect." I said quietly. "You're perfect." I finished, even quieter.

"Hardly." He said, kissing me lightly on the cheek. "I'm trying though." He continued, kissing my lips slightly. He lowered his voice until I could barely hear it, even with my super hearing. "I mean what else can I do? I'm in love." And with that, he was gone.

I slowly entered my room, my mind buzzing now. I locked the door and pulled the curtains shut tight. I got into my favorite pair of cotton pajamas bottoms, the dark blue with the white crescent moons had been a gag gift from Seth last Christmas. Pulling on a white ribbed tank top, I sat down at the desk and began pulling a brush through my hair- trying to calm my nerves.

"Something tells me you're not so good at following directions." A sinister voice said, causing me to drop my brush and spin around, nearly toppling out of the chair. Chase was lying on his back on my bed, with his head propped up on his arms- looking amused.

My heart literally stopped, and I wondered how long I could go without it. "What is your issue? This is my room. I don't remember inviting you." I snapped.

He stood slowly with a chuckle. "You've got spirit, I'll give you that much. Sarah just screamed bloody murder all the time. Gave me a damn migraine. Looks like Garwin has better taste than Danvers… excellent."

"You know, you really need to cut all the cryptic bullshit. Either tell me what you really want, or get the hell out." I said shortly.

He laughed loudly. "They haven't told you? You sure seem to be handling this well for someone who just found out there's a big bad power out there that's got your name on a list."

I rolled my eyes. "Well I happen to be good with weird. Or psycho, in your case. Seriously though, are you going to enlighten me, or are you just here to annoy me to death?" I asked, my whole body tensed, though I had no idea what good it would do for me to fight.

He shook his head, still smirking. "You sure are a piece of work. Don't have a cow, I'll tell you what's going on." He said, and his eyes flashed back to black. Suddenly my mind was assaulted with images- it was overwhelming. My power intensified it tenfold, my ears were bleeding with the pounding of a million different sounds, most were unearthly screams and tortured cries. The heat of an unseen fire was nearly unbearable, and I just had the energy to catch half of what I was supposed to be, or maybe not supposed to be, seeing.

_  
There was the barn, going up in flames. Sarah was floating in mid air, locked inside. Caleb and Chase were outside throwing what seemed to be massive amounts of pure energy at each other. _

"_Say it!" hallucination- Chase screamed._

_  
Caleb was struggling for breath, barely able to move. "I… will… you…" He paused. "nothing." He said, and fought back yet again until a large amount of lightning struck and he threw Chase into the barn, and then it was too bright to see anything else._

_  
The scene zoomed back, Kate, in a hospital bed, looking very much the worse for wear. Pogue on his Ducati being flung into a tree while Chase stood laughing in the middle of the road._

I came back to reality, tearing myself away from the horrifying images. Chase was laughing, his eyes still midnight. "They can't beat me; they don't have what it takes. The Power doesn't belong to them; they're too weak to use it." He growled.

"When we Use, it wears out our bodies. If I get their power on top of mine, I'll be indestructible. There's no way I'll die. That's what I need _you_ for." He said maliciously. Suddenly he grabbed me by the tops of my arms and shoved me roughly against the wall.

I tried to keep calm. "You need me so you have someone to push around? Seems like you did that just fine before." I snapped. "You underestimate their strength, you don't stand a chance!"I yelled, trying to sound intimidating although I really didn't know what I was talking about.

"Tyler will be ascending soon, he is the one I want this time. He may not seem like much, but his bloodlines are as strong as Caleb's. They're all worried about him, the more power, the worse the ascension. This is the perfect time to raise a little hell. I can use you to get to him and the rest of them, you are his new best friend and all. They know that if they don't do what I tell them, I'll take my anger out, on you." He snarled, throwing me to the ground violently. My wrist made an unhealthy popping noise.

"And they aren't strong enough to stop me. That's the trick, of course, I don't attack them, I just attack you. The only way to get me to stop is to will me their powers… and then they die, but hey, you win some, you lose some." He said lightly. My whole body went cold. I hadn't realized that this whole willing powers business was basically a sick suicide mission.

I pushed myself to my feet. "Go to hell!" I snapped, swinging back and punching him as hard as I could manage, my fist connected to his cheek but glanced off harmlessly.

Chase was laughing again. "This is the most fun I think I've ever had. Who knows, maybe I won't kill you… maybe I'll keep you." He said, and with another sinister laugh and a flash of black, he was gone.

Shakingly, I pulled myself up onto my bed; my arms were throbbing, as were my wrists where I had caught myself when he threw me down. I knew I wasn't safe in my room, but I wasn't safe anywhere at the moment, and there wasn't much I could do about that fact.

All my worst fears were confirmed. If I didn't want to be Reid's downfall, if I didn't want to be responsible for Caleb, Pogue, and Tyler dying a pointless death, I had to figure out how to beat Chase myself. Of course, there was no way I would stand a chance against him alone- my little power was too passive to scare a goldfish. I needed a miracle.

Some things became abundantly obvious as I sat there staring into the dark.

First, Chase was a total badass, who must have broken some serious rules to gain the ungodly amount of power he possessed.

Second, He was going to try to use me to get to Reid, Tyler, and the other Sons.

And third, the only way to stop him from killing my friends was to take matters into my own hands.

Oh, and Fourth, I was completely and undeniably screwed.


	7. Chapter 7

**So, i'm still not getting many reviews, but i have so much written that i figured i'd just upload another chapter anyways. Thanks to those of you who _did_ review, i really appreciate the feeback!**

**this isn't one of my favorite chapters, but it's pretty important to the main story.**

**disclaimer is in chapter two, it hasn't moved**

**_~wwsadd_**

New Information

Sarah returned the next morning, to find me in the same position I had been sitting in all night. I don't think I'd as much as blinked in the previous six hours. There was a lot for me to sort through, not to mention, I had to figure out what to do about my parents, who would undoubtedly figure out something was up unless I came up with a very convincing lie, and fast.

"Nessie?" Sarah asked, throwing her bag on the desk and shutting the door. "Have you slept at all?"

I shook my head. "Well class starts in fifteen minutes…" She said, and I could tell she was starting to get concerned. "Oh my goodness, what happened to your wrists?"

I glanced down. I must have dislocated my left wrist when I fell. It was light purple, and it did not contrast well with my pale skin. Shrugging, I finally moved. "Oh, I fell down last night." I said, going over to my closet and gingerly pulling on a heavy hoodie, with 'Dartmouth' proclaimed across the front. "I'm not going to class." I added.

"You _fell down_?" She asked incredulously. "And what do you mean you aren't going to class? What the hell happened last night? I'm going to _kill_ Reid." She growled.

That snapped me out of my reverie. "What? No! Reid hasn't done anything wrong!"

Sarah looked at me condescendingly. "I don't buy that for a second."

I took a deep breath. "Sit down." I ordered. She gave me a dirty look. "No, I'm serious, sit down. And I'll tell you about last night. But only if you promise to keep your mouth shut." She sat, and nodded. "I mean it. You have to swear on… Caleb's life." I decided.

She looked half confused, half angry. "Damn it, I swear, just tell me!" She snapped.

"Last night was the most perfect night of my life, until Reid dropped me off. Someone showed up in the room." I said. I took another deep breath. "Remember you swore not to tell anyone." She nodded impatiently. "Someone by the name of Chase Collins." I mumbled.

She was on her feet, having the biggest panic attack in the history of the world. She opened her mouth and then shut it again. Pacing faster and faster across our small room, I thought she was going to pass out. "Uh… Sarah?" I asked hesitantly.

"Oh my god. Nessie, this was supposed to be over! You should never have been dragged into this mess. I'm so sorry." She said, tears of panic starting to run down her face. She coughed a couple times. "I don't even know what to do. Damn it, last time Caleb almost died. I mean…" She clapped her hands over her mouth, realizing that she had said too much.

"Yeah, I got a pretty comprehensive look at "last time"." I said, using my fingers to make quotes around her words. "It looks like you all had a pretty close call. That Chase has an odd sense of humor."

She swallowed. "He told you? How much? Did he say what he was up to this time?" She fired off questions.

"Well… he showed me. A burning barn, a motorcycle flipping and hitting a tree… he explained that he wanted what he called 'the Power' and that if all the guys… willed? Their power to him then he would be indestructible, and he wouldn't die. Then he said that they didn't deserve to have it because they were too weak to use it. That was mostly all I caught before he disappeared into thin air. He said that I should warn them- but I figure, why play right into his hands?" I finished my tirade and collapsed on my bed- the sleepless night finally catching up to me.

Sarah collapsed too. She buried her head in her hands. "This was supposed to be over. Caleb said it was done. He's back. God, I can't believe he's back." Then she looked up at me and took a deep breath. "Are you okay? Me and Kate never managed to escape a meeting with Chase unscathed."

I shrugged. "I'm fine. I fell down and hurt my wrist, but no big deal. He thought I was "quite something". I think he got a kick out of me telling him to go to hell." I scoffed.

Sarah looked like she wanted to laugh. "You told Chase Collins to go to hell?"

"Among other things. None of which were too nice, but I didn't appreciate the invasion of privacy. Oh yeah, and he was threatening to kill my friends. That didn't put me in the best mood either." I growled.

It was oddly relieving to finally have someone to worry with. "No wonder Reid is so crazy about you, you're a total badass." Sarah said, pulling herself to her feet. I laughed. "Okay, so I'm assuming you want to know what's going on, right?"

"Well, yeah, that'd be nice, but like I said, we aren't telling the guys about this, at least not yet. Not until we have a plan." I said resolutely.

Surprisingly she agreed with me. "I know. I can't even imagine how horrible it's going to be. That's the last thing in the whole world I ever wanted to have to tell Caleb."

The next two hours we sat in our room, while she explained to me as much as she understood about what was going on. Apparently Caleb's dad willed him what was left of his power, when he was fighting Chase, which was the only reason he was able to win. Chase had stolen his father's power when he was younger- and was the definition of power hungry. The more they used the harder it was for them to stop, and if they willed it away, it was like willing away their life. From the sounds of it, Reid had been really bad about it, and they had all worried about him- but he cut way back when Caleb and Sarah almost died. Tyler was the only one that hadn't Ascended yet, but even with all four of them fighting, Chase was willing to break ancient laws that the Covenant had set down. Laws the boys would die before they broke. It would be nowhere near a fair fight, and they had really hoped that Chase had been done for after that fire.

"Wow. So we need a new plan. One that is better than 'Caleb and Reid go meet Chase and get their asses handed to them'." I said.

Sarah agreed. "I'll call Kate; get her in on this too. Pogue felt like he had to tell her after everything that happened last year. It made them closer. When we first met Chase, he actually tricked Kate into becoming friends with him. It scared the living hell out of Pogue. She doesn't know much more than I do, but I figure the more input the better." She said.

I nodded. I excused myself and went to the library, I had some apologies to make, and in the midst of all the uncertainty, I had to make sure that they didn't go unsaid. The phone rang once, twice.

"Seth's phone, Leah speaking." A bored girl's voice said.

"Hey Leah, is Seth around? It's Nessie." I added.

"Oh, hey Ness. Seth is currently running patrols. He has to keep the pack in line while our fearless pack leader is off chasing ghosts, or whatever is so important that he fails to check in most weeks." She said. I stiffened.

"Ghosts? Why would… never mind, I have too much other stuff to worry about- I don't even want to know. I just really needed to apologize to Seth for the way I've been acting, I was really out of line, and I didn't mean to take my frustration out on him… And I wanted to apologize to Jake too, I know I was really unfair- I know he's doing what he needs to do." I said, diffusing my voice with as much regret as I had.

"Seth's had worse, trust me. He only got mad because he agrees with you. Jake's been gone too long, it's not fair to any of us. My brother feels like he needs to defend him till the world ends, and it's hard to do when he really wants to just track him down and confront him. But I'll pass on the messages for you. I'm sure you'll hear from Seth again soon- he's gonna be pissed that he missed your call!" She said, somewhat gleefully. Usually Leah irritated me a little bit- but her dark humor reflected exactly how I felt at the moment.

When I got back to the room, Kate threw herself at me. "I'm so sorry that you have to put up with this! We had no idea that it wasn't over!" She cried sobbingly.

I patted her back slowly. "It's alright, everything is going to be fine, the three of us are going to fix this, and the guys don't even have to know."

"You don't think we should tell them? What are we supposed to do? We have no power to fight him with." She pointed out.

"You know they're all going to panic if we tell them Chase is back- they'll rush head first into a fight they can't win." Sarah pointed out.

"And we may not be able to throw people across the room with our minds, but we are all smart enough to come up with some way to trick him. He's not going to expect _us_ to fight back." I said resolutely.

Convinced, she nodded. "So what do we do?"

A few hours later, Kate's phone went off. "Hey Babe… Oh, no! I forgot. Sorry! Me n' Sarah n' Rainy are having a girls night, we could all use a night in. Oh yeah, we're having a ball. Painting each other's nails and swapping stories about our secretly sweet boyfriends… Ha ha. Yeah, you should be very scared, mister… Well we already knew Caleb was a whipped little pansy." She joked, dodging the pillow Sarah chucked at her. "Okay, we'll see you guys tomorrow, Love you!"

I stared at her, my mouth slightly open. "No one told me you were the world's best liar!" I said, and suddenly we all started laughing, despite the fact that we were still coming up empty.

We spent the whole night running through different plans. Each seemed worse than the last, and by three in the morning we were all about to pull our hair out. "There has got to be something we aren't thinking of!" Sarah said exasperatedly.

I had been debating for the last hour, and finally made up my mind. "Hey you guys?" I asked hesitantly.

Kate looked up sharply at my tone. "Yes?"

I took a deep breath. "I have a confession to make." Sarah looked like she couldn't take much more, but I needed to be completely honest. They both nodded for me to continue. "Don't freak out, okay?"

"What now?" Sarah moaned, but was silenced by another look from Kate.

"The boys aren't the only ones… who have secrets to protect. I have a lot more experience in magic than I let on, but only because I'd never met anyone that I could be honest with before." I said. "Hold out your hands." They both looked at me warily. "I'm not going to hurt you. Trust me; it's not that kind of power." I finished. They each held out their hands and I let mine hover over theirs.

I started at the beginning, glossing over some of the bloody vampire attacks, but showing them my parents' story. Briefly I shared images of my family, Jake and Seth included, and fragments of some of the other adventures they had had. Mostly I focused on how very good to the core we all were, and how overprotected I was from everything that could be deemed dangerous. I wanted them to see why I hadn't called my parents the minute Chase had appeared. I also showed them my conversation with Jasper- and what Chase had said in the car on the way there. I kept last night to myself. I didn't think they needed to hear everything that had been said and done.

When I pulled my hands back, I heard them both gasp. "Wow." Was all Sarah could say, and Kate was speechless.

"You are… a… vampire?" She finally managed to ask.

"Half vampire. There are only two of us in the whole world. But I'm not exceptionally powerful or anything. That little mind trick thing I just did was about the extent of my abilities. And unless we wanted to annoy Chase to death, I don't know how much I could do against him." I explained sadly, wishing for once in my life that I had been graced with an offensive gift.

"Information overload." Sarah muttered. "But what, you don't drink blood?" She asked, still looking a little cautious.

I laughed. "Nope, and I don't sleep in a coffin, obviously, garlic doesn't bother me, and crucifixes are actually kind of a joke in my family." I added as an afterthought. "Besides the immortality thing, and having a father that looks your age and can read your mind- and the werewolf best friend thing, I'm pretty normal."

They both laughed at that, breaking the tension. The rest of the night we talked about my history, my family, and the wolves. By the time the sun was rising the conversation switched to Reid, and I went into greater detail about what had happened the night before. I was again welcomed into the Sisterhood, as they called it. I understood their need for that- someone else that was in the exact same predicament, and had no desire to be anywhere else.

It had officially been forty-eight hours without sleep for me, and more than twenty four for Sarah and Kate, so when we got to Caleb's house that night, none of us had much in the way of energy. But we had decided to put the problem out of our minds for the night- we'd worry about it again tomorrow. We figured that if we didn't have a plan by the end of the weekend, I'd call Jasper. Though I didn't know how much good he'd do either, if Chase just set him on fire with his mind it wouldn't matter how good a fighter he was.


	8. Chapter 8

**Yay! two updates in 24 hours!! okay so i have a couple of things to say, first of all, Jake plays a part in this story, but he is not a main character. We'll get to his part soon enough :) The second installment will be called Old Magic, and has Jake as more of a central character. sorry to disappoint :(**

**second of all, ****I'm not sure Rainy's relationship with each of the Sons is entirely clear, though I've tried to show it the best I could. She respects Caleb a lot, she realizes he's their leader, and that he takes that responsibility extremely seriously- she's somewhat in awe of him. Tyler is kind of like Seth in her mind, the really good friend that is always there- she also appreciates his knack for keeping everyone calm. And finally, she and Pogue have an epic battle going on, lol. They are probably the most like brother and sister out of the group. They snark at each other constantly- but it's their way of showing each other that they care.  
Insane author's note over!! Please please please review!!!!**

**p.s. disclaimer is still in chapter two!**

**_~wwsadd_**

New Dilemmas and New Hope 

Entering the Danvers Mansion, I had to suppress a laugh. And _I _was the vampire. It seemed to me that this was the kind of place that would have coffins in the attic- and a torture chamber in the dungeon. "Come on you guys- and remember, act cool." Sarah said, leading us to the steps that descended into the basement, and I felt like under different circumstances, this situation would be really funny.

But instead of a medieval torture chamber, it was a brightly lit, warm apartment. Obviously this was where Caleb lived. It was a good sized area, complete with a small kitchen and big screen TV in the living room. Tyler was playing Pogue in Guitar Hero, Caleb was lounging on the black leather couch, and Reid was in the large, comfy looking armchair, egging his friends on. Pogue seemed to be in super-competitive mode.

"Knock knock." Kate said brightly. I marveled once again that she was such a good actress. Those boys should give her more credit. Pogue turned instinctually, inadvertently letting Tyler win.

"Damn it!" he yelled, turning back to the screen while the rest of us laughed.

"Sorry babe." She said, not sounding the least bit remorseful. Pogue took off the small plastic guitar and tossed it at Reid, who took his place while Pogue plopped down on the couch next to Caleb. Kate and Sarah both went over and climbed into their boyfriends' laps, and I could tell that this was harder on them than they even let on to me. If I hadn't grown up with vampires and werewolves, I can't imagine how badly I would be freaking out right now.

I circled around the couch, ruffling Pogue's hair playfully before stealing Reid's chair. It was the most amazingly comfortable piece of furniture ever, and I wanted so badly to fall asleep. "So, how was your little girls' night?" Caleb asked, playing with Sarah's hair. "All three of you look exhausted."

She smacked him lightly. "We look like exactly what we're supposed to after staying up all night."

"You didn't sleep at all?" Pogue asked, surprised. We all shook our heads no. I was having serious issues keeping my eyes open. "Well Rainy looks like she's about to pass out." He pointed out.

I stuck my tongue out at him. "Yeah, she got less sleep than we did. By like, an entire night." Sarah muttered. I shot her a warning glance. We were not supposed to bring up Chase or his threats.

She shrugged. Caleb looked puzzled, but not suspicious, so I wasn't too concerned. Reid and Tyler battled the video game on expert mode, and it reminded me of similar competitions between Jasper and Emmett at home- except they always ended up breaking the plastic controls.

When Reid won apparently the tournament was over, and they switched it to some sporting event or another. I barely noticed what he was doing until he was towering over me. "You. That's my chair." He said.

"Oh, really? What are you gonna do about it?" I asked. He didn't even hesitate; he just leaned down, scooped me up, and sat down. I curled up against him, now feeling comfortable _and_ safe. Sleep was nearly unavoidable. His arms were a light embrace, and I couldn't help it anymore. I drifted.

The next thing I knew, it felt like I was falling through the air. My eyes fluttered open; I was still too tired to wake all the way up. "What…" I mumbled.

I heard a gentle laugh, felt lips lightly brush my forehead. "It's okay Rainy, go back to sleep." So I did, turning my face into his chest and hanging on to his shirt lightly as he climbed stairs. When I finally woke up, really woke up, I was in a dark room, one I knew I had never seen before.

"Reid?" I called out nervously. I pulled myself up out of the bed, noticing how stiff I was from laying in one position for so long. Remembering that I had left my shoes in Caleb's basement, and hoping that I was still in his house somewhere, I padded quietly down the hall.

After a few twists and turns, I came to a large staircase. There was a light coming from somewhere on the next level down, so I hurried toward it. I entered the largest kitchen I had ever seen, stainless steel and sparkling white countertops seemed to stretch on forever.

"Hey you, I was just coming up to check on you." I heard, as an arm slid around my waist. I turned around and wrapped my arms around his neck. "I put you in a bedroom upstairs so the others wouldn't wake you up earlier. You looked really tired." He explained.

I nodded gratefully. "Thanks. I was." I said simply. He leaned down and kissed me lightly. It still managed to send my heart into overdrive.

"You look like you could use some more sleep, you want to go finish your nap? Or do you want to go back downstairs and hang out with the guys?" He asked. I knew I wouldn't fall back asleep, especially in a dark room, all by myself.

"Let's go back down." I decided, motioning for him to lead the way, as I would just get myself very lost. Pulling me by the hand, he guided me back to the stairs, and we were soon back in the little house-inside-a-house.

"Oh look! Sleeping beauty finally woke up!" Pogue called from the far side of the pool table that was set up in the middle of the largest available space.

"Bite me." I muttered, and heard Reid snicker softly. I looked around for Sarah and Kate, and noticed that neither one of them were there. Which was strange, because all of the guys were still hanging out.

Caleb answered my unspoken question in his soft but sure voice. "The girls are upstairs. Your phone went off, and I think they're giving whoever's on the line a really hard time." He said, as if he didn't know whether to be apologetic or amused.

"What song played…? When it went off I mean?" I asked, stifling a yawn, stretching a little, and leaning back against Reid. His arms, already around me, tightened slightly.

Tyler laughed. "Something about getting down to business and making a man out of someone." He said.

Oh. Seth. "That's alright. I'm pretty sure it'll be really hard for them to scare him." I said assuredly. Seth was just going to think everything they said was some sort of prank call anyway.

"Him?" Reid asked, one eyebrow raised. I smiled innocently.

"Yep. He's like… a really annoying big brother. I've known him since the day I was born." I explained. "But I better go see what he wants." I continued, pulling out of Reid's arms and heading for the stairs.

I wandered the house until I found what I assumed to be a study, but it was nearly the size of a library. Sarah and Kate had my Sidekick flipped open between them, sitting in two large armchairs in front of a glowing fireplace. Kate was talking. "Really? What's that?" She asked excitedly.

I snuck up on them, being quiet was one of the few vampire tricks I inherited. With my lightening reflexes I grabbed the phone from her, causing both girls to gasp. "Having fun?" I mouthed, smirking so they knew I wasn't mad. I could tell they were still a little wary since they learned the truth about my genetic makeup.

"Hey Seth, I see you've met my new friends." I said lightly into the phone, taking a seat on the floor with my back leaning against the chair Sarah was seated in.

"Nessie! Yes, Leah only just now remembered to pass on your message. But that's my sister for you. And it seems like you have bigger problems. Why am I not surprised that you've only been in school a month and you're already receiving death threats?" He asked, his voice going from joking to dead serious in a matter of milliseconds.

I was speechless. I glared at Kate, and quickly tried to run through ways to fix this. "Seth I-" I started, but he cut me off.

"I think your friends explained the situation relatively well. You're pissing off people with more power than you… haven't you learned that that's a no-no yet?" He asked.

I blurted out the first thing that popped into my head. "Don't tell Jake." I pleaded.

Seth growled. "You say that like you think I have a choice. The second I phase, he's going to know everything. And I'd tell him anyway Renesmee! What, you were just planning on counting on luck against this Son of Ipswich or whatever the hell it is? You need to tell you parents. Someone will come up with something."

My temper flared. I had been doing the best I could. "Seriously Seth, you don't get it! This guy can pop in and out of thin air, wherever, whenever. And that's the very least of his powers. You want me to what? Gather the covens? What the hell good would it do? He fights with his mind, and even dad wouldn't be able to stop him- even if he could see his every move, there wouldn't be any way for him to win! I've been looking for other old magic- magic that would stand up to his, but I need more time!" I snapped.

I heard an exasperated sigh. "Well what do you want me to do Ness? Keep this from your family, and from Jake, and just what? Wait until you've gotten yourself killed, and then be all 'oh, hey everyone, I knew she was being suicidal from the start, sorry, delayed reaction-my bad.' Nice try, but no way. At least let me come up there and see it through with you. Maybe I'll find something you missed." He said.

"And if you don't?" I asked.

"Well I'll be damned if this dude thinks he's getting away without a fight. Jake told me to protect you while he couldn't; the least you can do is let me not completely disobey his request." He said frustratedly.

I let my head fall back against Sarah's chair. "Fine." I groaned. "But don't phase unless you can keep this out of your mind. This is not Jake's fight, it's mine. I'm the one that pissed off the psycho Son."

"I'll see you soon. Don't do anything stupid while I'm running. That's _not_ a request." He growled, before the line went dead.

I felt like pulling out all of my hair. "Seriously you guys? What the hell was the point of that?" I asked, leaving my head leaned back, not even having the energy to look at them. This just got way more complicated.

"We were just talking to the werewolf, and I guess he could tell that we knew about… everything or something… I don't think we let anything slip. And so then he asked what was going on. We tried to play dumb, but he said if it involved you, there was no way it wasn't some sort of dangerous fiasco." Kate explained. "We thought he might actually be able to help, I mean, face it. We have no offensive magic, no practical experience fighting, and absolutely no idea when Chase will strike next. It can't hurt to have someone that can morph into a big scary wolf on our side."

I took a deep breath. "Okay, I see your point. What you didn't realize though, is that when he turns into that big scary wolf, the rest of the big scary wolves can hear everything that is running through his mind. Us keeping this a secret is going to become damn next to impossible when nine large wolves show up, wanting to tear apart the 'Son of Ipswich'. They don't have awesome control with their tempers- I don't know how much they'll differentiate between the bad Son and the good ones." I clarified.

Sarah stood quickly, and started pacing. "What, you mean they'll try to…"

I shook my head. "Let me handle the werewolves. You two need to occupy and distract Reid, Caleb, Pogue, and Tyler at all costs. I need to go now, just make sure that the guys do not get suspicious. It's more important than ever now."

They both nodded. "This still isn't as bad as last time." Sarah muttered to Kate, as they headed back to the staircase. I slipped out the front door, and took to the forest. It had been months since I had really run, and now I let loose. My long hair streamed out behind me, as my feet barely touched the ground.

I let my legs carry me through the green darkness, whipping through the narrowly spaced trees. I ran for hours, until I could no longer feel my bare feet, and my heart was about to jump out of my chest. I wasn't sure where I was, and at the moment, I didn't care. It seemed like everything was falling apart, and I didn't know how much longer I was going to be able to hold it together.

"Well well well. Hasn't anyone ever told you it's dangerous for little girls to be out in the forest by themselves at night? You could run into some… unsavory characters." A horribly familiar voice scoffed.

I turned slowly. "Oh, imagine that. The king of unsavory characters has come to pay me another visit- today must be my lucky day." I snapped. I was beyond caring about this arrogant power-crazed jerk.

"Now now Rainy, play nice." He said with a vicious smile. I flinched at the use of Reid's nickname. It was one thing when Pogue Caleb and Tyler used it, then it was cute- their way of showing me I was welcome in their group. But it sounded like a dirty word when it came out of Chase's mouth.

"Or what? You'll make my life a living hell? Mission accomplished!" I said, near hysteria.

_  
'I love rock n' roll, so put another dime in the jukebox baby-'_

My phone chose the most inopportune moment to ring. Hurriedly I pulled it out and flipped it open. "Sarah, I'm kind of in the middle of-" I started.

"Nessie! Where are you? We got back to the dorms like, two and a half hours ago, and we've been trying to call you! We need to keep tabs on each other at all times right now. Plus Caleb totally suspects something is up now. When you took off earlier he definitely didn't buy our excuses. You need to get back here before they do- they'll be here in another couple hours, can you make it?" She asked, rambling to the end of her question.

I groaned. "I'll do my best Sarah, but seriously, I can't talk right now. I'm dealing with… our problem." I said lamely. "Chase says hi." I added.

I heard her gasp. "Chase? What? Please tell me you're in a public place." She pleaded.

I laughed humorlessly. "I'm not sure where I am. I can tell you I haven't caught the scent of another person in the last forty minutes. I'd say I'm a good hundred miles from the nearest town. I'll get back as soon as I can, let me just get rid of this idiot." I said.

Chase clapped a hand over his heart. "Oh, Rainy, that hurts." He sneered.

I heard Sarah's intake of breath as she heard his voice reverberate over the phone line. I stuck my tongue out at him. "I'm an honest person, get used to it."

"Maybe you should try not to anger him Ness." Sarah suggested desperately. I rolled my eyes.

"Well you know what I think? I think he's just a big coward that's all talk. He keeps threatening me, but besides pushing me down that one time, I haven't seen anything extraordinary." I said shortly.

"Nessie!" I heard her cry. "Do you have a death wish?" She yelled.

Chase was suddenly growling, his eyes a deep, soulless black.

"Not particularly." I said. "I'll talk to you soon. Tell the guys I had a family emergency, and tell Reid I'll call him if I don't make it in time." I requested, hanging up. Turning back to Chase, I concentrated extremely hard.

The inflow of images was staggering. I held my breath and kept the magic going. This had been my plan, from the moment he had left the last time. The best way to figure out what Chase's plan is was to see it- thoughts don't lie, especially when they don't know you can see them.

Slowly I got my bearings. I filed away all the information in my brain for further study at a later time. Pulling myself back to reality, I saw Chase's reddening face just inches from mine. I backed up slowly. I had wanted to anger him- I knew that was the best way to get him to be thinking about his plan for our impending demise. I didn't think it all the way through though and now my back was up against a wall. Well, a tree- but it was the same thing when Chase's black eyes flashed with fire.

"Bad decision _Rainy_." He snarled, and made a motion with his hands. I don't know what it was supposed to achieve, but all it did was succeed in making Chase even angrier. "What?" He screamed, making the motion again. Again, nothing happened. "Impossible." He growled.

Meanwhile, I was having an epiphany. His Power didn't work on me. A plan quickly formed in my head. I needed to get back to school, and get prepared. I had found the answer.

"Well… I'd love to stay and play, but I've got places to be, you know how it is." I said sweetly, edging away. Unfortunately, as immune as I happened to be to his powers, he could still use his physical strength against me.

He lunged, his hands closing around my neck. "How!?" He screamed. "What are you?" He continued to screech, throwing me back into the tree. I saw stars, and it took all the strength I had to keep from sliding to the ground.

"I don't know what you're talking about." I managed to gasp.

He jumped at me, but I slipped out of his way. In a great deal of pain, I struggled to run. Thankfully I was faster than him, even as incapacitated as I was. I pushed myself as hard as I could, back toward school. I knew once he calmed down he would stop following me, he would have to regroup even more than I would.

* * *

**oh yeah, i did. he he. review!!**

**preview for next chapter:**

_Reid's eyes flashed, I seriously thought they were going to go black. "Stop it! Both of you stop!" I cried. They both turned to me, like they had forgotten I was there. "Seth, knock it off. Reid, I'm sorry- this is getting blown way out of proportion. But Seth is right, you should probably go, he and I have a lot of work to do, and not a lot of time." I said, drying my tears even as more fell. The accusations in his eyes made me snap._

_"And don't look at me like that! I can't believe you would really think for a second that I would do that to you! Seth is one of my oldest friends, and he's only here to help me. I love you, you idiot! Now go!" I yelled, leaping down from the desk and throwing open the door. I physically shoved him out, he seemed in shock, and didn't recover before I slammed the door._


	9. Chapter 9

**Thanks for the reviews!! (and yes, Seth's ringtone is from mulan, i love that song- and it somehow reminded me of him, lol) Here's the next chapter- keep the reviews coming!!**

_**wwsadd**  
_

New Games

I had never run that fast in my life, and in half an hour I had made it back to Spencer's large parking lot. I slowed to a walk, hoping I didn't look as bad as I felt. The last thing I needed right now was to be bombarded by questions I couldn't answer.

By the time I got to my room, my breathing was back under control… mostly. Barging in, I was suddenly excited again. "I figured it out!" I sang.

Too late I realized that it was not just Sarah and Kate in my room.

"What the hell happened to you?" Seth demanded, jumping up from the chair by my desk. The girls were pacing back and forth, making the room seem even smaller than it actually was. He swiftly pulled me into a hug, noticing when I winced.

"Uh… Chase and I had a slight disagreement?" I said, hoping to leave it at that. But no such luck. Seth growled impressively, yanking up the side of my shirt to expose a blossoming bruise that stretched along my ribcage on the right side.

"Shit." He hissed. "What kind of a disagreement?" He demanded.

Kate had quickly come over to examine my side. "It looks like you cracked a couple ribs, maybe even splintered one. You had to be hit pretty hard for this to happen." She said, prodding what I assumed were the broken bones.

"Uh, ouch. He didn't really like the fact that he can't use his stupid little Power on me." I explained shortly.

Sarah's eyes lit up. "It doesn't work on you?" She asked excitedly. I nodded, my own excitement back.

"That's not surprising. His magic dates back centuries, you're like, a new and improved supernatural phenomenon." Seth said.

"Don't you know how to make a girl feel special?" I asked sarcastically, rolling my eyes. "But you realize what this means, right?" I asked them, directing my question more to Kate and Sarah.

Sarah's excitement had turned to apprehension; she saw quickly the direction I planned to take with this new information. "I don't know that you should…" She started.

I waved my hand dismissively. "He's got so much power already in that body, it shouldn't take long for me to get him to use it all for something. It'll burn out his body so bad, there's no way he'll be able to maintain it. He'll wither away in minutes… hopefully. I just have to push his buttons and stay out of the way. It shouldn't be too hard." I explained. Seth's face was dark with anger.

"That's your brilliant plan? Piss him off so much that he throws all of his power at you because you _think_ it will kill him?" He hollered.

"It _will_ kill him, but that's not really the point. He'll more than likely end up taking you with him." Kate snapped, shushing Seth while she was at it.

"I think this is our best shot you guys. Unless you have something better?" I asked harshly, looking between the girls and Seth. They all kept their mouths shut, although I could tell none of them were exceedingly pleased. "We have some time to talk this through; he was even more derailed than I was. I can safely say we have a few days, probably a week. But I think this is a good place to start seriously planning our counterattack. Seth, you can stay here for the time being. If that's okay with you Sarah." I amended.

Sarah nodded vigorously. "Big scary werewolf protecting us at all times. I like that idea." She said quickly. "Especially because I don't want to scare Caleb by insisting on staying at his place all week."

Kate shrugged. "I live with Pogue. He's not gonna notice if I'm a little more clingy than usual. I think he likes it when I insist on spending all my free time with him."

Seth conceded. We'd have to be careful, it was very against the rules to have a guy sleeping in our room all week, but we knew it was in everyone's best interest. I asked Sarah to call Caleb and ask them not to come over tonight. He was suspicious, and insisted on talking to me.

"Caleb? What's up man?" I asked, as lightly as I could.

"Rainy? Hey. I was just checking that everything was all right. You took off in quite a hurry earlier- you worried us. Are you okay?" He asked, and his sincerity rang in his voice. I could easily see how Caleb was Spencer's golden boy; he was probably the sweetest guy in the world.

"Yes, I'm perfectly fine, thank you. I have some family issues going on, so I had to rush off to deal. Sorry if I scared anyone. I guess I'm not used to having such tight friends. I appreciate your concern though. And sorry about tonight, but me and Sarah really just want to go to bed." I said, surprising myself by not lying.

"Of course, you're part of the gang now, get used to my over protectiveness, it doesn't go away." He said, and I could tell that I had, at least momentarily, eased his fears. "I'll pass it on to Reid too; he was freaking out more than I was- which was a new experience for all of us. It was kind of fun actually. I think it's going to be good having you around." He joked.

I laughed. "I think I can say the same about all of you. At least there's never a dull moment! Tell Reid I said to calm the fuck down… and I'll call him in the morning, okay? Thanks Caleb." I said, hanging up Sarah's phone and handing it back to her.

Seth was big enough that he took up my bed all by himself, and Sarah and I climbed into hers. They had both wanted me to go to the doctor to get my ribs checked out, but I didn't need records of suspicious injuries floating around- my family didn't need any more chances to find out what was going on.

I felt hideous in the morning, and couldn't make myself get out of bed for class. Seth walked Sarah to her first hour, and I took the chance to call Reid. I took a deep breath and picked up my trusty cell phone. It rang twice. "Rainy?" He answered. I involuntarily smiled at the note of anxiety apparent in his voice even over the phone.

"Hey you. I'm not interrupting a class, am I?" I asked, getting a weird adrenaline rush just by hearing him say my name.

"Not for me. Shouldn't you be in Calculus though?" He asked. I stuck my tongue out at the receiver, even though I knew he couldn't see me.

"You're the one who suggested I not go to class, remember?" I teased lightly, ignoring the throbbing in my side when I laughed.

"Well I meant if you were skipping class with me. Obviously. Is everything okay?" He still sounded concerned, and I had no desire to lie to him. But I knew better than to tell the truth.

"Of course. I'm simply skipping cuz I overslept. And you know how much they love tardiness around here. Plus I just really hate math." I quipped. He laughed and I hoped I'd calmed his fears at least a little.

"So… what happened yesterday? Sarah and Kate seemed really on edge when they came back downstairs. I thought I was going to have to come after you and make sure you were alright. Caleb convinced me to calm down though." He explained. For some reason it seemed like he must be embarrassed.

"Awe. That's so sweet." I cooed.

"Again, not a word to anyone." He said, and I could tell I was seriously ruining his bad boy image.

I giggled. "What, you don't want all of Spencer to know that Reid Garwin has a heart?" I asked sweetly.

He groaned. "No one else needs to know babe." He said arrogantly. "Please?" he added at the end, like he couldn't help it. I could almost see the puppy dog look on his face.

"Oh, all right. I won't tell." I conceded with another laugh. "I really just called to let you know everything is okay. I need to get ready for my next class; apparently I'm not supposed to be skipping alone." I said lightly.

It was his turn to laugh. "Damn straight. But next time you don't want to go to class… you know all you have to do is call." He said with a snicker. "You are coming to Nicky's tonight, right? I miss dancing with you." He whined.

I sighed. I wanted to go, more than anything, and pretend like nothing had changed in the three days since he had proven that he was, in fact, Prince Charming- in the most alluring disguise ever. But that didn't change the fact that right now I had huge problems, problems that were not going to solve themselves. I couldn't justify a night of fun at this point, no matter how vital it was to my sanity.

"I want to, really, I do. But there's a lot of things going on with my uh, family right now, and really need to be responsible and deal. Maybe…" I trailed off, my sixteen year old heart waging an intense war with my seemingly ancient practical-minded conscious.

"Rainy, please, you're killing me here. Tell me what is going on! I want to help you, but I can't do that if you keep shutting me out." He said, frustrated.

More than anything, I wanted to give him the rundown of everything that had happened since the day Chase first appeared in my car. I wanted to tell him about who I really was, and let him hold me and tell me everything was going to be okay. But it wasn't my life in danger, well not ultimately. Chase was using me to get to Reid. To get to Caleb, Pogue, and Tyler most of all. For the millionth time I told myself that I had to be strong. We could start being honest with each other when this mess was over.

Rare tears formed in my eyes, and I prayed that my voice would stay steady. "Reid… I'm sorry. I don't want to shut you out, exactly the opposite, actually. It's just; there are secrets involved… that aren't mine. Things I'm not at liberty to share, and it's already so hard to… I don't want to pull you into this, trust me, please?"

"You. Are. Scaring. Me." He said slowly. "I'm on my way." _Click_. Damn. This was so not going to be my day.

Seth came back then, flopping back down on my bed next to me. "How you holdin up?" He asked, and I curled up next to him. His arm came down around me. "We will figure something out Ness, you know, me n' Jake are pros at this kind of stuff. Did we ever tell you about when Victoria came back for your mom? And the Volturi picked the exact same day to come check that she wasn't still human?" He asked, creating a distraction that, as always, worked.

I shook my head, I had heard many stories, mostly from Seth or Emmett, both of whom were tremendous storytellers. But this one was new. I had heard the one about James, the one about Laurent, the one about Volterra itself, but I hadn't heard this one. "What did you do?" I asked, trying to keep tears back by not focusing on my problems.

"Your dad and Jake took Bella up into the mountains, the pack and your family split up the twenty newborns Victoria had created to take out the Cullens. Jake left me with your parents while everyone else was down fighting. But Victoria had only made a distraction for everyone- and came after us up on the mountain. Your dad and she fought like hell, of course, in the end; she couldn't beat his mind reading trick. I dominated her little lieutenant person, and then, everything was going great, we thought it must be over. Until my stupid sister had to go pull some idiot stunt.

She almost got herself killed, but Jake jumped in and saved her. Unfortunately, he got the crap beat out of him. And, of course, that is when the Volturi decide to show up. The pack all booked it back to La Push, and left Carlisle to deal with the psycho vamps. It was a crazy close call of a day. But in the end, everything worked out- and Jake heals fast, if you haven't noticed, so within days everything was back to normal." He finished.

Just then there was a sharp knock on the door. "Rainy! Open up, it's me." I heard Reid say impatiently. I crawled off my bed and made my way to the door. I unlocked it with shaky hands, concerned about what else could possibly go wrong.

The minute the door was open, Reid pulled me roughly into his arms. I tried not to wince when his arms crushed my broken ribs. I tugged him inside and shut the door. He had stopped short when he saw Seth, still casually lying on my bed.

I could tell he wasn't sure what to think, and I didn't want him to jump to conclusions. Pushing him over to Sarah's bed, I crawled up into his arms and snuggled into his chest. "Seth Clearwater, this is Reid Garwin, Reid, Seth." I said, making my introductions short as possible. Reid jerked a nod in Seth's direction; Seth returned the somewhat hostile gesture.

Seth looked angry, but also disappointed, and it looked like it wasn't directed at me, or even Reid- which puzzled me. But he was as good an actor as everyone else who'd spent their whole lives keeping their identity a secret. "Nice to meet you." He spit out. Reid's arms tightened slightly.

"So who the hell is going to tell me what is going on?" He asked harshly. I wasn't completely comfortable with Seth watching so surreptitiously, but I turned around in his arms, so I was practically straddling him. I took his face in my hands and stared at him seriously.

"Calm down." I enunciated. "Everything is okay. I promise." I said, hating the lie, and hating myself for telling it.

Unfortunately he didn't buy it anyway. "Bull shit." He said. I tried not to let the images in, but I was already so upset that it was hard to keep my powers in check. I could see the images of the different scenarios that he was coming up with in his mind, none of them even close to what was actually happening. Each was actually less dangerous than what was actually going on. Run-ins with cops, some sort of family crime deal; it hurt me to see that he really thought I could possibly be cheating on him. I let go of his face, I couldn't handle seeing any more of where that thought was going.

I pulled out of his embrace, wondering for a split second if it would just be best if I let him believe it- if he started to hate me so that Chase's threats became useless. But then I realized that I was the only thing standing between them and Chase. If I bowed out of this fight, they were all dead.

Instead I climbed up and sat on my desk, away from both of them, feeling more alone than I ever had in my life. "You don't trust me." I said, hoping that he couldn't see how much it hurt me to say that.

He stood quickly. "That's not fair. I'm _worried_ about you. Damn it Rainy, you're driving me crazy!" He said, raising his voice slightly. "Please? Please tell me what is going on. I just want to help." He pled, his voice returning to its normal octave.

I couldn't hold back the tears anymore, and they started to slowly run down my face. "I. Can't." I said. "You don't get it Reid, I cannot tell you. I want to, and I can't, okay? I'm sorry! But it's just the way it has to be!" I hiccupped, beginning to cry harder.

"I think you should leave now." Seth growled at Reid, pointing at the door. "You aren't doing anything but upsetting her. She'll call you later."

"Who the hell are you to tell me what I should and should not do? I have as much a right here as you do." Reid snapped.

"I'm her friend. I'm the one helping her here- so beat it." He snarled.

Reid's eyes flashed, I seriously thought they were going to go black. "Stop it! Both of you stop!" I cried. They both turned to me, like they had forgotten I was there. "Seth, knock it off. Reid, I'm sorry- this is getting blown way out of proportion. But Seth is right, you should probably go, he and I have a lot of work to do, and not a lot of time." I said, drying my tears even as more fell. The accusations in his eyes made me snap.

"And don't look at me like that! I can't believe you would really think for a second that I would do that to you! Seth is one of my oldest friends, and he's only here to help me. I _love_ _you_, you idiot! Now go!" I yelled, leaping down from the desk and throwing open the door. I physically shoved him out, he seemed in shock, and didn't recover before I slammed the door.

Throwing the lock in place, I turned back to Seth. My pain had turned to anger. "Well that went well." He growled. "What the hell was all that about?"

I imitated his growl, mine not nearly as impressive. "You didn't have to be so mean to him. He really does care about me." I snapped. "I'd tell him what's going on in a heartbeat if I thought he wouldn't rush out and get himself killed."

Seth dropped heavily back to my bed. He shook his head sadly. "I told Jake this was going to happen. He should have known better than to leave you alone so long. I _told_ him." He muttered.

"Whoa, since when do you get to blame Jake for this?" I asked. I didn't blame him, not for a second. Did I wish he was around more? Of course, but I walked into this. "He didn't force me to make the decisions I made. I knew there was something dangerous about them the minute I met them- I made my own choices here, and the only one to blame is me. I will fix this- if it's the last thing I do." I ranted.

"It won't be the last thing you do, Nessie- if I in any way get the impression that it is, well, you know it'll take me less than thirty seconds to have the entire pack on alert. Whatever plan we come up with will not put you in danger- if it's the last thing _I_ do." He said, turning my words around.

There was suddenly another knock on the door. "Oh joy." I muttered, going back and unlocking it. There stood a very confused looking Tyler- skipping swim practice.

"What the hell Rainy!" He said, pushing past me into my room, which he basically lived in with me and Sarah anyway. "Want to explain to me what is going on? Since apparently Reid just doesn't get it?" He asked. "And by the way, I've never seen him that messed up in the nearly eighteen years I've known him."

"Because he'd rather think I'm cheating on him or something just as stupid than stopping for five minutes to think that I might actually have a legit reason for keeping something from him! Geez Ty, he's impossible- I'd never do that to him." I said tiredly. The emotional rollercoaster ride was making me nauseous.

"I know that, he knows that too. He just doesn't have a clue what's up with you. You're scaring him- and he doesn't scare easily." Tyler said, putting his hands lightly on my shoulders so I couldn't turn away from him.

I sighed. "I'm sorry about that. I don't mean to be. Can't you convince him he's being ridiculous? Please? All I need is a week- a week without worrying that the four of you are going to beat down my door any minute and freak out on me. Is that in any way possible?" I begged.

Tyler groaned. "Alright. One week. But you owe me big time for this." He said lightly. "And if you need anything at all, you call me- no questions asked." He said. I threw my arms around his neck, more grateful than I'd ever been before in my life.

"Thank you Tyler. You're the best." I whispered.

"Rainy, just promise me you'll be careful playing whatever game this is." He said, hugging me tightly before leaving without a single glance at the large werewolf that still occupied my room.

* * *

**yeah, tyler is the best :) review!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey all! So here's the third to last chapter!! It's long, but action-packed!! (This is personally my favorite chapter of the whole story!) We're getting to the good part now! Review if you want more!!**

**_~wwsadd_**

New Plans

I spent the rest of that day trying to decide just how to best set up my little counterattack. It was harder than it should have been, with Seth breathing down my neck. I was thankful that Chase was planning on Tyler's birthday for this to go down. The others would already be so preoccupied, they wouldn't notice me as much, and then the next day we could all celebrate being alive together at Ty's party.

It was obvious that I would be able to push him enough to get him to lose control of his Power- the hard part would be to continuously make him think he had a shot at killing me while staying back enough that that wouldn't happen.

Thankfully I was quite fast when I needed to be, and the pain in my ribs was already going away, although the large purple bruise wasn't fading. Kate said that it would take at least a month to heal. None of us had that long and it didn't matter anyway- I would work with what I had.

Sarah was great at distracting Seth, who still believed we had time- he didn't think anything had been decided, and my friends were good at keeping him occupied. He told them the pack legends, stories about my parents before they had me, and stories of me growing up in a house full of vampires.

The girls found it all fascinating, which seemed odd to me. I would have thought they would be running away screaming, but I guessed that with what had happened the previous year, it took a lot for something to reach "scary" status.

The worst part was that I had to distance myself from Reid. It hurt more than I thought possible, I finally understood the phrase 'broken heart'. I cried more in that week than I ever had before in my life. But I was adamant; they were _not_ going to find out. Sarah and Kate tried to comfort me, they believed that we should leave them out of it too; no one wanted a repeat of last year.

They weren't happy with my plans, still insisting that there was probably a better way. But no one could find it, and with Tyler's ascension growing closer, they were willing to try anything that didn't involve the Sons. Not that that kept them from complaining whenever Seth wasn't around. I heard the same arguments enough that I could basically have them with myself.

"Are you sure you're faster than him?" Sarah asked for the three millionth time, four days after I had fought with Reid and Tyler had promised to keep everyone diverted. The girls had all but stopped speaking to their boyfriends, they were so afraid to let something slip. Kate, being the best liar, was fairly good at keeping Pogue from being suspicious, but she still spent most of her time in our room.

We were walking back from Tyler's swim meet, he was the only one we still spent any good amount of time with since he was good at not asking questions, and the others hadn't been able to make it to his competition. I looked around swiftly, letting my senses tell me if there was anyone within seeing or hearing distance.

I rolled my eyes, and took off, clear up the street, turned back, and raced toward them. I could tell that I had gone a good mile and a half in less than a minute. "Convinced?" I asked, and both of them nodded speechlessly.

"You do know it's really disconcerting when you do that, right?" Kate asked lightly. I admired how good she was with all this stuff. I imagined that my mother was like that when she found out Dad was a vampire.

I laughed. "Vampire, remember? Well, sort of anyways. So stop worrying so much. He won't catch me. And he can't throw those little energy –ball things at me, cuz it won't work. And neither will his creepy little spells." I added, remembering the more detailed story I had gotten from Kate about spiders.

"So I just have to keep him going until he exhausts his body. The more power, the faster the burnout. It really shouldn't be that hard you guys." I said, trying to convince them more than myself. I had spent too much energy trying to convince myself, and it just didn't work.

Instead of concentrating on the bad stuff, we all tried to focus on Tyler's party. I had called in the big guns on it, taking more than one page out of Aunt Alice's book. I even invited her and Jasper to the party, it had been too long since I had checked in with them, and I hoped that by inviting them, they would be less likely to show up before then to check on me. Besides, the danger would be over then, one way or another.

"Too bad he won't be picking out our outfits." Sarah said, throwing clothes from her closet to her bed.

"We should totally go all out though. Like, mix and match previous dumb outfits to make some seriously funny costumes. You know he would get a kick out of that." I said, likewise going through my overstuffed closet.

She agreed, and we modeled for each other, both ending up looking like a Halloween costume party gone bad. She had on my boots with hot pink tights and faded jean shorts. Her top was also pink, with a large black skull and crossbones. _Fear Me_ was scripted underneath. We both laughed at the irony.

I had back on the green corset top I had worn my first night at Nicky's, but I went theatrical, and borrowed a ruffled black-lace tutu from Sarah that seemed to be somehow medieval when matched with the top. Faded ripped skinny jeans went underneath, and green platform sandals completed it.

"What is that?" I asked, folding the clothes up and putting them in a drawer until the party. She had out a pad and was drawing with a felt tip marker. The small five-point star was encircled, and there was writing around it, Latin I assumed.

"It's a protection symbol; I saw it in one of Caleb's family's books one time. I'm getting a tattoo of it." She said, pointing to her left hip. "Kate wants one too- we're thinking about going this afternoon. You wanna go?" She asked.

Seth would be in the library all afternoon- he was convinced that we had missed something. Suddenly I had a pressing urge to take Sarah up on her offer. I wanted to feel like I really was part of this close, loyal group. This tied them to the boys- and I needed that too.

"Sure, I'm game. I think it's a really good idea, actually. Maybe they really do offer some protection, couldn't hurt." I joked.

It did hurt, I supposed, a little. My skin was harder than theirs was, and I had a much higher pain tolerance. The black was sharp against my pale color; it seemed to me like it nearly glowed.

I wondered if it really would shine if there was some needle that could pierce a true vampire's skin. Ever since I had given up hunting, I had become much more human. I still looked like a vampire, but I wasn't nearly as strong as I had been the first years of my life.

This thought occurred to me as I was tracing the outline of the black circle, that half stuck up over the edge of my jeans. I didn't feel any _need_ to hunt, but with Tyler's birthday in two days, the question was, _should_ I? The idea actually sort of sickened me, as human as I had become.

I wasn't venomous, and I hated to admit it, but if I could hunt without killing anything, just taking a little, for strength's sake, might be a good idea. Of course, I would never ask for Sarah or Kate's opinion on that- but I did resolve to ask Seth what he thought.

"Seth?" I asked timidly, pulling myself up on the desk where he was pouring over another book on New England myths. He looked up, curiosity evident on his features.

"What's up Ness?" He asked, sliding a scrap of paper into the binding of the book and closing it.

"Uh… would you…go hunting with me?" I asked quickly, just wanting the words to be out in the open. His eyes widened, he had tried to convince me for months after Jake left that I should go with him, my parents, anyone. I had refused, training myself to go without.

"You want to hunt?" He asked, dumbfounded. "Why?"

"Because I'm tired of feeling weak. Please go with me? I'll go alone if you don't want to, but I'm going." I said resolutely, deciding in that moment that it was important.

"Of course I'll go with you. Let's get out of the area; do you want to go tonight?" He asked, gathering the books into a pile.

I shook my head. "Sarah and Kate and I are going to get Ty's birthday present tonight. Can we go tomorrow night? I have class till four, but we could leave just after that. Go camping up North maybe?" I asked, making it up as I went. I really just wanted it to be as soon as I could before facing Chase.

"Sure sure. Sounds like a plan. You're sure you're okay though, right?" He asked suspiciously.

I mock punched him. "I'm fine. I'd tell you if I wasn't." I said, and realized sadly that as true as it used to be, it was now a blatant lie.

The next day flew by, and it was a mere twenty four hours before I put my plan into action. I was painfully aware that I hadn't seen or spoken to Reid in a whole week. I realized that since the day I had met him I hadn't gone twenty four hours without at least talking to him. If I failed, then I would never get the chance to explain, to apologize. That thought was more painful than the thought of Chase actually killing me.

Seth drove my Porsche out into the wild Appalachians. By nightfall he pulled off to the dirt road, into a secluded clearing. "You're sure you want to do this?" He asked, opening my door for me, and offering me his hand.

I grinned, but it was off. "What, afraid I'm going to beat you?" I asked, watching him assemble the small tent with extraordinary speed.

He snorted, and seconds later he was no longer the large, ripped Indian that had been one of my father's best friends since before I was born. He was a gigantic dark wolf, towering over me by feet. I laughed, kicking off my flip flops. We took off into the forest, side by side, and this time I lowered the only wall I had ever put up in my own mind.

Letting my senses take over, I rushed ahead of Seth, deeper into the forest, hoping for a mountain lion, or a bear. Something that would put up at least a decent fight, I had a lot of pent up stress. Within ten minutes, we had both caught our prey. Even in wolf form, I could tell Seth was put out that my bear was bigger than his.

I let the warm liquid fill me, trying my best not to kill the bear. When I felt him start to weaken, I forced myself to stop, taking a step back, and letting the animal stumble away. It was unbelievable how fast my strength returned. I felt like I could pull one of the giant trees out of the ground with one hand. I probably could. My sight and hearing, and smell were all heightened considerably.

This was going to save my life, I realized. I couldn't run from who I was, not completely.

"You sure turned into a human." Seth teased later that night, as we curled up inside the tent. "You couldn't even finish off the bear."

"Why kill anyone or anything unnecessarily? I'm no more human than you, I just understand them better." I said, falling asleep quickly, full in way I hadn't been in a long time.

For the first time since this mess had started, I had a dream that had nothing to do with Putnam Barn, or the Sons finding out what we were hiding and rushing out to fight Chase. There was a weird quality to this dream, like it was a memory. It didn't occur to me until later that I was subconsciously letting my gift pull images from Seth's mind into mine.

"_Leah, we have problems. Big big problems." Dream Seth said to his cell phone, in a back corner of the library._

_  
Her voice crackled back over the receiver. "What else is new? What is it this time Seth? You know I don't know where Jake is. Every time we phase all we get from him is dark cold nothingness."_

"_Well we need to find him. Now. It isn't an option Leah. Renesmee is in trouble, life or death trouble. She won't listen to me, she won't do anything but rebel against her parents if we tell them. Jake is the only one who could possibly talk some sense into her before it's too late." He said, seriously but quietly._

"_I'll do my best. Stall her, I'll run down the coast and track him down. Last time I got anything from him was four months ago- he was in South America. Fighting, as usual, he doesn't get that it's a lost cause. We can't win against this, we're all screwed, and I wish he would just come home and spend what time he had left with us. The pack is falling apart." She said desperately. _

"_I know. I'm going to phase and see if I can get through to him that way. He's ignored the bond between them for too long, if he doesn't hurry, everything is going to go to hell. Literally. Call me as soon as you can. And Leah?" He whispered._

"_Yeah?" She asked, and it only just dawned on me that she sounded exhausted._

"_Be careful." He said, hanging up the tiny cell phone and sticking it back in his pocket._

_  
Far away, a wolf howled. The images sped forward, landing on my best friend, fighting against something that seemed to be pure shadow. It was cold, and dark. All I could tell was that he wasn't winning. _

_  
Suddenly he froze, and a look of apprehension crossed his face before he snarled, turning from the shadowy monstrosity and taking off into the rainforest. The shadow, to my horror, chased after him. It literally picked up my indestructible protector and flung him into a group of large trees. He slid to the ground, and I sub-consciously cried out in horror. He had just gone from being the attacker to being the attacked._

I jolted awake, the weak sunlight struggling to warm the ground outside the open tent. Seth was no longer inside, and I angrily untangled myself from the blankets and pushed my way outside. "Seth!" I yelled.

The large whimpering werewolf was pacing back and forth. I closed my eyes and let the images flow over my mind. Jake was trapped. He needed help, and I had less than fourteen hours till Ty's ascension. He wasn't going to be showing up to come to my rescue. It hit me hard that in the back of my head and deep in my heart I had been counting on him to save the day.

"Go Seth!" I cried, pointing south. "Help him!" He looked at me incredulously, and I remembered that he didn't know that I could do the reverse imaging thing yet. "Jake needs help, it's your job to help him, Jesus Seth, get moving!" I yelled, my voice cracking when I said his name.

Without another glance at me he leapt clear over the tent and took off faster than I had ever seen a werewolf move in my life. I put it out of my mind. There was no way I was getting to Jake; I had to save Reid and his brothers first. And there wasn't enough room in my head to worry about both.

I left the camp stuff. There wasn't time. I jumped in the Porsche and pressed the gas pedal down. I think I may have broken the speedometer, I was going over 120 miles an hour, the trees flashing by until I made it into Ipswich.

Passing Nicky's I sighed. I promised myself that I would get to be there again, be a kid again, when this day was over. I threw the car into park when I got to the parking lot. It was disconcerting to find the room empty, until I saw the note on Sarah's desk.

'_Ness, big problems. I'm so sorry; I let something slip to Caleb. We're going to his house, meet us there, please! They're all going berserk, and Kate and I are at a loss, we can only keep them occupied for so long. We didn't tell them about Chase, only that you know about them. They're fifteen minutes away from coming after you. Just hurry, please, and leave Seth if you can- I don't want anyone to get in a fight._

_  
Sarah.'_

I groaned. "Shit." I muttered to myself. Tyler did not need this right now. Instead of getting back in my car, I took off for Caleb's on foot. It would be faster anyway. I didn't bother to knock; I just strode in, and made my way to the stairs.

I could hear yelling, and I braced myself.

"Knock knock." I managed to say lightly, opening the door to the downstairs, and effectively halting all conversation. Caleb actually looked angriest, though it seemed that anger was directed inward. And Reid looked like he was close to having a breakdown. Kate and Pogue looked like they wanted to kill each other, and that was probably the scariest of everything. Although the helpless look on Tyler's face came in a close second.

Sarah crossed the room quickly to throw her arms around my neck. "Sorry." She said desperately. I nodded.

I walked into the center of the circle that they seemed to have inadvertently formed. "Let's get this over with." I said, looking between all of them.

Caleb looked possibly too mad to speak. "How much do you know?"

I turned his words around, something I found myself doing a lot lately. "How much did you keep from me?" I asked. He flinched, and I regretted it. "Look, its okay. I swear, it's not the worst I've ever run into." I said, trying to keep my tone light until it was impossible.

"That's hard to believe. And how did you find out anyway?" Pogue snapped. Kate glared at him, and he returned it equally. I could see he was blaming her, and she was mad that he would trust her so little.

"That's a long story." I said shortly.

Tyler got up from where he was sitting. He came to stand directly in front of me. "Cliff Notes version." He said, giving a half smile that was sad and sweet at the same time.

I sighed, wondering if we would all even make it to tonight.

Reid cut in, and I saw how close he really was to falling apart. "Why are you even here?" He asked. Tyler looked like he was going to hit him, but I heard the meaning in the words. Why did I even bother? He thought I hated him for keeping this from me, and that was why I was avoiding him. I put my hand gently on Tyler's arm for a minute, before walking over to where Reid was seated on the high marble counter.

I kept back a couple feet, but faced him alone. Out of all of them he deserved the explanation. "Because, you weren't the only one with a secret that was too dangerous to share." I said, lightly opening my hand, inviting him to take it. He didn't seem convinced, but I begged him silently, and he finally laid his hand in mine.

I showed everyone, but I concentrated on the hand that held mine. Again, as with Sarah and Kate, I started at the beginning. I sped past images of my parents, and my childhood. I ended at the day Reid and I first danced at Nicky's, not quite ready to share the rest. Jumping ahead I showed them what happened when I had asked Jasper about them, and his answer, leaving out the part where Chase threatened me in my car. Skipping far ahead, I made slight alterations to to why exactly Seth was here, but showed them that I was defending them against the werewolf that clearly did not like them.

Opening my eyes, I looked everywhere but at the boy in front of me. I didn't want to see revulsion. He had, after all, spent the last month making out with a vampire-girl. I tried to pull my hand out of his, back up so I could focus on the others, but his hand was tight around mine. "Reid, let go." I said, tugging away.

Instead of releasing it, he used it to draw me in to him. "Not a chance." He said shortly, and bent his face down to mine. I couldn't believe this was happening. How could he want his face anywhere near mine? But I reacted as I always did, winding my fingers through his blond hair, pulling myself up so I could reach better.

A few sweet seconds later, I heard someone clear their throat, my guess was Caleb. I pulled back and turned around, but Reid wouldn't let me go far. His arms stayed around me, and I never wanted that feeling of absolute safety to go away. "Want to explain what exactly that was?" Caleb asked, his face and voice both softer now than they had been minutes previously.

I shrugged. "That was me. Where I came from, how I found out about you guys. Why you don't scare me." I teased, elbowing Reid lightly. "My uncles are all way scarier than you lot." I taunted.

Pogue scoffed; apparently everything was okay now that he believed that Kate hadn't exposed them. Kate still looked angry though. "_Right_. We could probably take them." He said.

"Let's not test that theory, I'd really hate to be the reason the Sons of Ipswich ceased to exist." I laughed, but the girls caught my double meaning. Sarah shot me a look.

"How did you do that?" Tyler asked, looking excited. "That thing where you showed us your life."

I grinned mischievously. "My dad can read minds, and my mom works as like, a shield. She can reverse the effects of other people's mind tricks; I guess you could call them. Somehow I just have the ability to show people things. I've been able to do it since I was born."

"Wait a second…" Kate started, something occurring to her. "Can _you_ do the reverse? See things other people are thinking?" She asked.

I smirked. "Well that is for me to know and you all to never find out." I said with a snicker. I felt Reid stiffen, and Pogue started laughing. "I don't do it unless I'm upset though, I'm not a big fan of privacy invasion- when my emotions get out of hand it's harder for me to control." I said, leaning back in his arms, glad when I felt him relax.

"So then, about these giant wolves." Caleb started. Sarah flinched; she hadn't exactly mentioned that Seth had been sleeping over. "What's their deal?"

"My best friend in the whole world is the leader of the Quileute werewolves. Right now he's in some serious trouble down south. His, I don't know… second in command? Seth- is the one he sends to babysit me. That's why he was here. He doesn't really like you guys… but I think I have him convinced you aren't bad people." I explained.

Reid sighed. "I'm sorry I didn't trust you." He said. Everyone stopped breathing for a moment. Apparently they had never heard Reid Garwin apologize before. I giggled at the look on Pogue's face.

"It's okay, I forgive you." I said simply, smiling even wider when he kissed me lightly on the cheek. Suddenly everything seemed okay; no matter how much was still so wrong.

"So… where is Seth now?" Tyler asked, as if realizing suddenly that I had arrived alone.

It was my turn to stiffen. Reid's arms pulled me closer in comfort. "Jake just went from bad to worse, fighting some, I don't know, shadow thing. Seth took off in a hurry- trying to make it before it's too late." I said, willing myself not to get emotional. I couldn't stop myself from shuddering slightly.

Sarah's eyes suddenly filled with tears, and Caleb automatically pulled her closer. "I'm so sorry Nessie." She said.

I swallowed hard, keeping on top of the panic. "It's going to be alright. Seth is going to make it in time. I have to believe that." I said resolutely, tightening my grip on Reid's arms that were still around me. The comfort of having his body so close to mine still astounded me.

"Shadow?" Caleb said sharply.

I nodded. "I didn't have a chance to ask Seth what it was, and I'm pretty sure he didn't know anyway. Jake was pretty good about keeping it all under wraps, even from the rest of the pack." I needed to change the subject. "So, about tonight… I'm confused. What exactly is going to happen?" I asked, reaching for Tyler's hand, and dragging him over to me.

He shrugged self-consciously. I could see the fear, though it was well hidden. No one spoke. "It's really that bad?" I asked, becoming worried. Still, no one said anything. "Uh… is anyone going to clue me in?"

Caleb ran his free hand through his hair. "It's going to be fine. It's not as dangerous as it seems- you're going to do great." He said, speaking to Ty now.

Pogue cut in, for once dead serious. "It's just… really painful." He said, his voice going hard. "There are… large amounts of electricity involved." I shivered, shrinking into Reid's chest as much as I could, not wanting to think about it. Changing my mind, I broke out of his grasp and threw my arms around Tyler, who automatically hugged me back.

"Hey, it'll be okay." He whispered. "I'm stronger than I look." He joked. I nodded, unconvinced.

"So, now that almost everything is out in the open, who wants to get some lunch?" Sarah asked brightly.

Caleb quickly turned to stare at her. "_Almost_?" He asked shortly. Sarah's face fell, Kate slapped herself in the forehead.

"Damn it Sarah!" I groaned.

"Oops?" She said.

"Oh joy. What now?" Pogue asked, looking between the three of us.

"Nothing." I said adamantly. "Nothing anyone needs to worry about now."

"Seriously." Sarah added. "You all don't need something else to freak out about."

"Sarah, shut it. You aren't helping." Kate warned. I closed my eyes and pinched the bridge of my nose. This was _not_ happening. I felt a hand tugging on my arm. I looked up, and Tyler's face was inches from mine.

"Just tell us, I'm pretty sure none of us can be more stressed out than we already are." He said.

"Wanna bet?" I asked. But the look on his face was clearly a no-bullshit one. I knew I wasn't getting out of it. Sighing, I lightly placed my hand on his shoulder. I showed him Chase, just in the car- leaving the rest out.

He stumbled back. "You have _got_ to be kidding." He growled.

"'Fraid not." I said shortly. "But I totally have this one under control." I added.

He gave me a dubious look. "The hell you do-"

"Vampire, remember?" I cut in.

"Why don't you share with the group?" Reid suggested, hopping down from the counter and coming to wrap his arms around me. The separation must have been as hard on him as it was on me.

"Because the group doesn't want to know." I muttered. Tyler nodded in agreement, or so it seemed.

"Trust me, guys. You _really_ don't." He said. "So let's hear this brilliant plan of yours, if you're so sure you have everything handled." He challenged. Sighing, I reached out to grab his hand, showing him my plan. Chase withering away quickly from trying too hard to use Power that didn't work.

"It doesn't work on you?" He asked sharply, looking up. I shook my head. His eyes flashed with fire, and suddenly Reid was leaping at him.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" He roared. I grabbed Reid and yanked him back before he could injure his best friend. Pogue had also started forward, Caleb looked furious.

I was taken aback by the black that all their eyes had turned to. "Everyone cool it, okay? Geez. He knew it wouldn't work, he _saw_ it." I snapped. That brought them up short.

"How did you know it wouldn't work? How did you figure that out?" Caleb asked suspiciously. "None of us have Used on you." He said, his eyes returning to normal.

I nodded, entirely sick of the charade. "None of you four Sons of Ipswich have. But there aren't four Sons, are there? There are five." I said shortly.

All hell broke loose.

Caleb finally took charge, after five minutes of pure pandemonium. "Chase." He specified, trying to get the situation figured out. I nodded.

"That first weekend we met. He told me to tell you that the game was back on, and it seemed like a bad idea at the time to just play into his hands like that. Then, a month later, the night we went dancing…" I trailed off, looking quickly at Reid, who had murder written all over his face.

"He showed up in the room. Told me I wasn't very good at following directions- ranted at me a little… said I was 'something', and went on about how he didn't want to have to kill me, he wanted to keep me, apparently I'm amazing like that. Until I hit him. … Well I guess he thought that was pretty funny actually.

"Then, when I left here that afternoon, took off without saying goodbye, it was because Seth found out about you all. I ran into Chase again in the forest… that's when he flipped out and Used. And it just didn't work." I explained, giving up and showing them the moments in the forest, starting from when Sarah called.

"_Sarah, I'm kind of in the middle of-" I started._

_  
"Nessie! Where are you? We got back to the dorms like, two and a half hours ago, and we've been trying to call you! We need to keep tabs on each other at all times right now. Plus Caleb totally suspects something is up now. When you took off earlier he definitely didn't buy our excuses. You need to get back here before they do- they'll be here in another couple hours, can you make it?" She asked, rambling to the end of her question._

_  
I groaned. "I'll do my best Sarah, but seriously, I can't talk right now. I'm dealing with… our problem." I said lamely. "Chase says hi." I added. _

_  
I heard her gasp. "Chase? What? Please tell me you're in a public place." She pleaded._

_  
I laughed humorlessly. "I'm not sure where I am. I can tell you I haven't caught the scent of another person in the last forty minutes. I'd say I'm a good hundred miles from the nearest town. I'll get back as soon as I can, let me just get rid of this idiot." I said._

_  
Chase clapped a hand over his heart. "Oh, Rainy, that hurts." He sneered._

_  
I heard Sarah's intake of breath as she heard his voice reverberate over the phone line. I stuck my tongue out at him. "I'm an honest person, get used to it." _

_  
"Maybe you should try not to anger him Ness." Sarah suggested desperately. I rolled my eyes._

_  
"Well you know what I think? I think he's just a big coward that's all talk. He keeps threatening me, but besides pushing me down that one time, I haven't seen anything extraordinary." I said shortly._

_  
"Nessie!" I heard her cry. "Do you have a death wish?" She yelled._

_  
Chase was suddenly growling, his eyes a deep, soulless black._

_  
"Not particularly." I said. "I'll talk to you soon. Tell the guys I had a family emergency, and tell Reid I'll call him if I don't make it in time." I requested, hanging up and turning back to Chase._

_  
"Bad decision Rainy." He snarled, and made a motion with his hands. "What?" He screamed, making the motion again. Again, nothing happened. "Impossible." He growled._

_  
"Well… I'd love to stay and play, but I've got places to be, you know how it is." I said sweetly, edging away. Unfortunately, as immune as I happened to be to his powers, he could still use his physical strength against me._

_  
He lunged, his hands closing around my neck. "How!?" He screamed. "What are you?" He continued to screech, throwing me back into the tree. I saw stars, and it took all the strength I had to keep from sliding to the ground._

_  
"I don't know what you're talking about." I managed to gasp._

_  
He jumped at me, but I slipped out of his way._

I brought everyone back to reality.

Pogue flinched. "Ouch." He muttered. Kate nodded.

"Cracked two ribs, at least." She said matter of factly. I glared at her. She shrugged. "What? Cat's out of the bag now anyway."

There was fire blooming in Reid's midnight black eyes. I quickly reached up to put my hands on his face, trying to calm him down. He was visibly shaking, and I concentrated on showing him all the good things I could remember, the first night at Nicky's, the night at the Dells, the night we argued and ended up making out against my car door, and the night we went dancing. Slowly his eyes faded back to the piercing blue I was used to.

"Damn it." Caleb muttered. "Of course he would show up again when we've all got other things to worry about."

I nodded, not taking my hands from Reid's face. "You're all weak right now. He thinks he has a better shot at killing you." I said bluntly.

"I can't believe I got _you_ dragged into this." Reid mumbled, pulling my hands from his face but using them to pull me into his arms. "I _swear_ to you I thought this was over."

I kissed him lightly before turning back to the others. "It's not the worst situation I've ever been in. Trust me, I've seen worse. There's a long list of people that want me dead, so Chase is just going to have to wait in line. You guys just focus on tonight- I have a plan to keep Chase otherwise occupied." I said, with a quick grin.

Reid's grip on my waist tightened. "Hell _no_." He said shortly. He glared at Caleb. "You said he was gone." I sighed.

"Seriously you guys. The plan I have _will_ work. Then he'll really be gone." I muttered.

"If the three of us can't beat him, what makes you think you have a shot in hell?" Pogue asked.

"Well, first of all, he doesn't want to kill me. He wants me to get to you." I said, poking Reid in the side. "So don't take the bait. And second of all, I can do this-" I slipped out of Reid's arms and leapt across the room, clear over the pool table, and then ran as quickly as I could, skidding to a stop right in front of them. "I'm wicked fast." I said, giggling at Tyler's agape mouth.

There was something like chagrin in Caleb's eyes. He looked like he wanted to trust me, but he reluctantly shook his head. "We can't let you put yourself in that kind of danger against _our_ enemy Rainy. He wants us."

"But he's using _me_- so why don't you play that to your advantage? He doesn't know what I am, he doesn't know what I can do, and believe it or not, I'm stronger than I look too. We're on a team together now, this is my fight too- get used to the idea." I said, echoing Caleb just a few days before, when he had told me to get used to his over-protectiveness.

"Over my dead body." Reid said, angry again.

I groaned. This was going to be tricky.

* * *

**preview of next chapter!!**

_"So… are you saying if I…_ will _my powers to Chase, it will cancel his out?" I asked slowly._

_... ... ... ..._


	11. Chapter 11

**hey everyone!! this story is almost over!! so review if you want the last chapter!!**

**disclaimer in chapter two!**

_**~wwsadd**  
_

New Struggles

This was wrong. I clung to Reid, begging him with my eyes. Kate and Pogue were in the corner arguing, and I didn't know where Sarah and Caleb had gotten to. "Rainy, don't look at me like that. I won't lose you because of what I _am_. Just stay here and I'll come back for you as soon as it's over." He said, and I could tell he was torn between doing what he thought was right and doing what I was begging him to do.

"Great, that's going to be really comforting when I never get to see you again, because you're too damn stubborn to admit that I'm right." I said, trying to hold back tears. I'd cried too much in the last couple weeks.

His signature smirk was firmly in place. "You aren't getting rid of me that easily. It's going to be okay, I promise. I'll be back in a few hours, and then we can argue some more, alright?" He said, leaning down to lightly brush his lips to mine. "I love you." He said quietly, and then it was just Sarah, Kate and I, locked away and helpless, while they rushed headfirst into a fight they weren't prepared for, just as we had feared.

"I can't believe this." I growled an hour later, pacing back and forth in the concrete lair under Caleb's old colony house. There were five stone chairs spaced around a large raised dais in the center of the room. It was weakly lit by candles, and ancient books lined the walls.

"This is all my fault!" Sarah said, falling into one of the chairs and burying her face in her hands.

"Yeah. It sort of is. But we need to figure out what we are going to do _now_." Kate said, taking charge in her place as eldest.

"This is ridiculous. What the hell was Caleb thinking locking us up down here? Damn it." I said, slamming my fist into the nearest stone chair, causing a large crack to form.

"They're all worried, we can't be with them during Tyler's ascension, and he thought this was the next safest thing." Sarah muttered.

"Right, safe. They're all so stupid!! Chase is going to come after them, and they won't be able to defeat him. We're stuck down here while he kills them!" I said, completely frustrated. "How much time do we have?" I asked.

"Forty-eight minutes." Kate answered shortly, not even needing to check a clock.

"Isn't there a way we could break out of here?" Sarah asked desperately. I shook my head.

"With all the enchantments on this place? We'd have to burn it down. And then we wouldn't be much help to anyone." I said tiredly.

"Hey Rainy." Kate said, a note of interest in her voice. "Come look at this book I just found." She was holding a worn leather book, smaller and older than any book I had ever seen in my life.

"What is it?" I asked curiously, making my way over to where she had it lying open.

_  
veneficus rumpi _Was scripted across the cover. "It's Latin, something like, interrupted magic." Kate said, flipping through the brittle pages. "Most of it is in Latin. I can't translate well, but I'm pretty sure this word is vampire." She pointed. _Lamia. _"And this is the word for half." She said, pointing to the following word. _Dimidium._

"This book has to be millennia old." Sarah said, coming over to look as well. "Apparently you aren't as unique as you thought." She said. I stuck my tongue out at her.

"If I'm translating correctly, the magic in your blood and the magic in his should conversely affect each other. They should also equal each other out on some level." Kate explained, her eyebrows pulling together in concentration. "It talks about something called a Guardian…_tutore_. Half human, half creature of the night. The guardian could neutralize a warlock's powers if they were being misused… I think.

"From the looks of it, Guardians were rare, but being immortal, they lasted more than just one generation. They formed alliances with different magic practitioners, mostly protecting them from exposure, because due to their double bloodlines, they could easily walk between the worlds.

"They helped the ancients fight many different battles- speed, discretion, and strategy… there's a whole story here! This book must have been written in like, the eighth century or something crazy like that!" She said, "Too bad my translating skills aren't completely up to par."

I took a deep breath, trying to process. "That would have been really helpful sixteen years ago." I muttered to myself.

"So… are you saying if I… will my powers to Chase, it will cancel his out?" I asked slowly.

Sarah's eyes widened. "You can't do that! It could kill you!" She said frantically.

I closed my eyes. "Could. But it might not. And leaving Chase powerless is as good as killing him, once Caleb and the others get their hands on him." I said. "And what else could have it meant? To take away his powers… I can't think of another way to do that, can you?" I asked.

Neither looked convinced. "Come _on_ you guys!! This is proof that _I'm_ the one who is supposed to stop Chase! You _can't_ tell me this is bullshit." I said, carefully pulling the book out of Kate's hands.

"I could be translating wrong. This could say something completely different, and then you'd be facing Chase with nothing!" Kate said.

"We still have Plan A, which I think I'll try first anyway, I mean, killing Chase is actually my number one priority. I'll only use this new discovery if I get in a bind. Face it; I have a way better chance right now than they do." I persuaded. Sarah hung her head, Kate groaned.

"We are still locked down here, or did you forget that little detail?" She asked. I grinned. Pointing at the staircase, and rolling my eyes when neither girl understood my meaning. I made my way slowly under the backside of the solid rock stairs, and pressed lightly on the indentation in the shape of a small door, that had caught my eye just before Kate had called me over to look at the book that was still in my other hand.

The trapdoor gave, revealing a tunnel that curved sharply downward. "Obviously there's an escape exit, it just took me a while to find it." I said with a smirk. "Now go, get in my car, and drive to my aunt and uncle's, the address is still in the GPS. That's gotta be the safest place right now. Just tell them you're my friends from school and that I sent you, and told you not to answer questions till I got there." I said, handing Kate my keys.

Sarah threw her arms around my neck. "I'm the world's worst roommate, but thanks for being the world's best best friend." She whispered, before disappearing.

Kate kept her chin up, the panic well hidden in her eyes. "Be careful. I'm _not_ telling Reid and Tyler if you fail. And… Thank you." She said, following Sarah.

I took a few deep breaths, getting my pounding heart under control. After securing the trap door, I made my way to the center of the cave-like lair. I lithely jumped up on the stone table, storing the small book in my back jean pocket. I pulled off Reid's heavy hoodie that he had left with me, I thought I was about to suffocate. I was left in a thin black eyelet lace spaghetti strap, that didn't fall all the way to the top of my low-rise jeans.

Clenching my fists, I said a quick prayer, not for myself, but for Tyler, and another, for Jake- wherever he was.

"Come out come out wherever you are!" I called clearly. Nothing happened, and I sighed. "Oh, come on, you don't want to come out and play?" Still nothing. "Marco!" I finally said, not really expecting anything.

The malicious laughter that I had gotten disgustingly used to lately filled the small room. "Polo." I spun, glaring at the young man that now lounged comfortably in one of the stone chairs.

"Well well well. You've got wit and nerve, and you look pretty hot when you're angry. You may just be the perfect girl for me." He said with a dark grin. I grimaced, those words sounded too much like Reid's once had, only they were said in bitterness and fear.

"Hmmm. Is that so? Because I think you're a sleazy coward that only wants what he can't have." I spit.

His eyes flashed. "You know, if you're going to keep misbehaving, I'm going to have to start punishing you." He said, slowly getting to his feet and taking a step toward me. "But don't worry, I think it's the kind of punishment we could both enjoy." He growled, and I wanted to throw up.

"Really now? And what makes you think I would ever go for a guy like you? I don't like guys who have absolutely no self respect. No wonder you're such an outcast." I snapped.

This time his eyes stayed black. I could feel the electricity crackle in the air. Books started to fly off the shelves. "That wasn't very nice." Chase said lowly. I ducked as a large book with metal on the binding whizzed over my head.

"Neither is killing one of my best friends just because he's a better person then you'll ever be." I pressed, slipping out of the way as he snarled and launched himself at me. The flames of the multiple candles began to flicker, and the power in the air was tangible.

"You. What are you playing at?" He snarled, rising up off the ground a few feet in his anger.

"Me? Nothing, I just get a kick out of near death experiences." I quipped, dodging him again.

"Really? Well then, by all means." He said, finally managing to grab me. I could tell his energy was waning, but I wasn't sure if it was going to be enough. One of his overlarge hands was around my throat, the other at my waist.

"Last chance Rainy; it's my way or the highway… which obviously is death in this scenario. Sadly, cuz we would have made one hell of a pair." He said with a wicked grin, leaning in so his face was mere inches from mine.

"Bite me." I spit, instantly regretting my words. His teeth grazed my neck, and I shuddered in revulsion. Putting all the force I could behind it, I brought me knee swiftly up. He jumped back cursing. Then his fist hit my face. I wasn't ready for such a quick reaction, and had to grab the wall behind me for support.

"Any last words?" He snarled, putting his hand on my hip as if to shove me back against the wall again. But he pulled his hand back quickly, a shocked look on his face. Glancing down, the tattoo on my left hip _was_ glowing.

"Yeah." I said not giving myself time to think about it, and answering his question. "_I will you my Power_."

The candles went out, but the inked star on my body glowed brightly. Chase doubled over in front of me, gasping for breath. I didn't feel any weaker, on the contrary, I felt like my reserves of energy were growing. "Game over. You _lose_." I said, throwing my fist into his face. He hit the ground and didn't move. My cell phone went off, playing a familiar tune.

"Happy birthday Tyler." I muttered, to no one in particular.

Chase's body began to wither away right in front of my shocked eyes. When all that was left was a skeleton, it turned to dust and blew away, in the light breeze that suddenly relit the candles. As I looked around I had to groan, the place was a disaster. At least everyone got out alive.

I didn't know if it was the adrenaline or if Chase really passed some power back to me, but I felt stronger than I ever had, despite the light bruise on my cheek, the slight throbbing in my re-broken ribs, and the revolting teeth marks on my neck. Racing up the stairs, I threw my weight against the stone door, after a few seconds it gave in, and I rushed out.

Taking back to the forest I ran toward Alice and Jasper's. It took me less time than I would have imagined. I burst in. "I did it!" I called.

Kate and Sarah greeted me giddily. "Really? Like, really _really_ over?" Sarah asked. I nodded excitedly. We both started jumping up and down like kindergarteners.

"Well that's relieving." Kate said simply, falling back onto the designer couch.

"Now that we've celebrated, it's time for us to get some answers." I heard a calm, yet firm voice say from behind me. Turning, I launched myself at him.

"Hey uncle Jasper!" I cried, hugging him. He chuckled.

"It's nice to see you too." He said.

"Where's Alice?" I asked excitedly.

"Making a phone call." He said shortly. I reached out with my mind, almost second nature by now.

"Leah doesn't know anything, she's wasting her time." I said simply. Jasper did a double take.

"How did you… Never mind, I don't want to know." He decided. I giggled.

"I figured out how to reverse my power, you know, like Mom can so Dad can hear what she's thinking? Like that, only way cooler." I said animatedly.

Alice finally made her entrance, dancing over and hugging me lightly. "Trust you to go get yourself in trouble. You were right though, Leah didn't know exactly what was happening around here. She said Seth had it under control… why haven't I seen him?" She demanded.

My heart stopped as I remembered the reason Seth had made such a quick getaway. "Oh. God, Alice, he had to go. Jake… is in so much trouble. I sent him south to help him. No matter how much he loves us, his loyalty is to Jake, obviously." I said quietly. Jasper shot a warning look at me, and I shrugged sheepishly.

"They know." I said simply. "Everything." I continued. For a minute Jasper looked every inch a scary vampire, and I rushed to explain before Kate and Sarah discovered that I hadn't been kidding about my uncles being scarier than their boyfriends.

"This is Sarah, my roommate, and our friend Kate, they know the Sons." I said, giving him a meaningful look, and shooting the memory of him telling me their story back at him. His eyes widened.

"Damn it Ness. You find the only magic in all of Massachusetts that we don't stand a fighting chance against. This is just wonderful." He muttered.

I laughed. "Well, you said they were good… and they are. Well, except Chase Collins, the long-lost descendant of John Putnam, but no worries, I just took care of that. Which is why we are celebrating!" I said brightly.

Idly I thought to myself that it was a good thing vampires didn't need to breathe. "Your dad is going to murder me." He finally said, and Alice looked between us, confused.

"What did you do now? And what is this nonsense?" She asked.

"I just pissed off the wrong person, and it was almost a disaster, but I'm a genius, and hey, I took care of it. Just don't even ask, you'll regret it." I finished, and she nodded, she could tell this was not something she wanted to know.

I turned back to the girls. "We should be getting back to the colony house, they'll be back, and Chase and I kind of trashed it. I don't want them to jump to conclusions and think we're all dead or something." I said. Turning to my aunt and uncle, I smiled. "Make sure you show up to the party tomorrow, it's going to be _epic_. And… we need to discuss what to do about Jake." I said quietly.

Caleb's convertible was parked outside when we got there, and we all raced inside.

They were standing in what seemed to be their traditional places around the raised table. Sarah and I both jumped on Tyler, knocking him over.

"Where the hell have you been?" Pogue asked Kate harshly. She stuck her tongue out at him.

"We were chatting up some vampires. Where were you?" She asked.

"How did you get out?" Ty asked, as we all tumbled around on the ground, trying to untangle ourselves.

I sighed. "What part of _vampire_ don't you understand?" I asked, for what seemed for like, the twelfth time in the last twelve hours. "We busted out. Sorry about the mess Caleb." I added, giving up and tipping back on my hands, leaning against Tyler.

He was looking around, and rubbed the back of his neck. "I guess I deserve it for trying to make you guys stay here. Chase never even showed." He said. I stopped breathing.

"Uh… Caleb? You don't need to worry about that_. I_ didn't trash you're house." I said meaningfully.

"What?" Reid asked tonelessly. I shrugged.

"I told you, he was after me. I also told you I would take care of it. Maybe you should all take me at my word next time." I said, glad I had covered the marks on my cheek and neck well, and that it was dim in the underground room.

"She did it!" Sarah said, unable to keep quiet anymore. "He's really gone this time, right?" She asked, leaning over Tyler to ask me. I rolled my eyes.

When I showed them this time, the extra energy I had gained messed with my powers. The scene literally hung in the air, like a giant television screen hovering over the stone dais.

_  
The candles went out, but the inked star on my body glowed brightly. Chase doubled over in front of me, gasping for breath. I didn't feel any weaker, on the contrary, I felt like my reserves of energy were growing. "Game over. You lose." I said._

_  
Chase's body began to wither away right in front of my shocked eyes. When all that was left was a skeleton, it turned to dust and blew away, in the light breeze that suddenly relit the candles. _

No one spoke. "See…?" I finally said. Tyler reached over and pulled up my tank top a couple inches, tracing the tattoo that had faded back so it no longer looked like a beacon. "Well I should probably thank you for that." I said to Sarah. "They were your idea."

"They?" Pogue asked curiously. Kate and Sarah both bared their hips, showing the same symbol.

I pulled the small book out of my back pocket and tossed it at Caleb. "Protection. Who would have guessed it would actually work?"

Caleb flipped through the tiny book, his eyes widening. "What the… I've never read through this before… You _didn't_." He said. I grinned.

"You know, at my house, we have this saying. No blood, no foul." I said. He glared. "Okay, so I did. But it worked. Obviously."

He groaned. "Fantastic. What if-" I cut him off.

"What if nothing Caleb. If this, and if that, makes no difference now. I made a choice, prayed it would turn out okay, and it did. End of story." I said sharply.

Tyler elbowed me. "What did you do now? Might as well tell us, it's not like we can do anything about it at this point. And it's just going to bug us all until we figure it out."

"Ask him." I said, pointing at Caleb. "I'm not saying anything this time."

"Rainy's powers are equal and opposite to ours… they even each other out- she just used that to her advantage in a way I would not have agreed with." He said shortly.

"No riddles man, just say it, please?" Reid said, speaking for the first time since we had entered the room. He seemed dazed, or exhausted… or both. I finally pulled my legs free from the tangle, and hopped to my feet. I crawled over the stone chair that was in my way and wrapped my arms around him, laying my head on his chest.

"Don't worry about it, obviously I was right." I said, shooting Caleb a warning look. "Otherwise…" I trailed off.

Kate finished for me. "Let's just say that if she had been wrong, she wouldn't be here right now. Looks like the opposite happens when she wills her power to one of you, it kills you guys, and makes her stronger. She's what used to be called a Guardian. Totally kick-ass." She explained. "Thankfully." She added.

Reid stiffened, and I hugged myself to him harder. "Don't worry, I'm pretty sure you'll be safe, I won't lose you because of what I _am_." I said lightly. Looking up at him I let my own smirk spread across my face. "And, I love you too."

* * *

**review!!**

**preview of next chapter:**

_"What have you done to my girlfriend?" He asked, eyes roaming over my skimpy top and frilly tutu. "She looks like a two dollar hooker that ran away to join the circus." He said with a snicker._


	12. Chapter 12

**hey all! so this is it, the end of New Magic!! hope you enjoyed it!**

**as always, disclaimer in chapter two!!**

**_~wwsadd_**

New Horizons

"We look _amazing_." Sarah said, pulling out a camera and snapping a shot of both of us with peace signs thrown up by our faces.

"We look bizarre. But it's okay. Tyler is going to think we're awesome." I said with a laugh. "Shoot! We're going to be late to the surprise party _we_ planned." I whined.

"Not if _you_ drive." Sarah said with a giggle.

She was right. We made it just before Tyler's Hummer pulled up to the edge of the Dells. All four Sons climbed out, and I held back a laugh when we heard Tyler's confused voice. "Guys… there's no one here."

"Surprise!" We all yelled, as I struck a match and lit the giant bonfire. Over half the school was there, complete with a real band, and Alice was taking care of the cops. Sarah and I both attacked him again, and he spent the next twenty minutes laughing at our outfits.

"I'm glad to see I was such a good influence on you both." He spit out between laughs. Reid's arm snaked around my waist and pulled me up against him.

"What have you done to my girlfriend?" He asked, eyes roaming over my skimpy top and frilly tutu. "She looks like a two dollar hooker that ran away to join the circus." He said with a snicker. My mouth fell open, and I shoved him away from me playfully.

"Oh, but I thought that was what you're all about… two dollar hookers and all." I snarked. It was his turn to look outraged, grabbing the tutu and dragging me back to him.

"Me? Hookers? Come on babe, there's a line of girls that would pay _me_." He laughed, his fingers lightly tracing my tattoo. Chills ran down my spine. I pouted. "But you know, I think I like being your Prince Charming." I snickered, pulling his face toward mine, relishing in the adrenaline rush through my entire body.

A throat cleared. I jumped and turned around. Tyler was laughing silently, Sarah looked mortified. "Hey… Uncle Jasper, what's up?" I asked, holding back my own laugh. There was shock all over Jasper's face, and I could feel that Reid had stopped breathing.

"Alice will be here soon. She had to call your parents and update them… with the phony story you gave her earlier. You know they'll figure it out eventually, right?" He asked, looking between me and Reid, completely puzzled. I could only imagine the kind of emotions Jasper was getting on his strange radar.

"I know. But really, do they have any room to talk? Just don't think about it around my dad. Besides, they're all going to be really focused on my new cool mind trick." I said excitedly. Alice danced over to Jasper's side.

"Who is this Nessie? You know, you really keep us out of the loop." She complained, her eyes critically trained on Reid's arm that tightened possessively around me.

"Alice, Jasper, this is Reid… Reid Garwin. Reid, this is my aunt Alice and my uncle Jasper, they're wicked cool." I said. There was an awkward silence, and I was glad when Alice opened her mouth to break it… until the words actually came out of her mouth.

"We need to talk about Jake, Ness. I can't get a hold of Seth, and Leah is worried. The entire pack is mobilizing, and they're divided over leadership. I know this is a really bad time, but you need to step in." She said, her usually optimistic voice full of dread.

I froze. "What do you mean, step in? They aren't going to listen to me Alice, they still think I'm four years old. And I know, saving Jake is my job, after all the times he's saved me, But that's tomorrow's problem." I said resolutely, pulling Reid stubbornly away from them and over to where Caleb and Sarah were dancing near Kate and Pogue.

The rock music blared, and I smiled around at my friends. Reid had his hands on my hips, my back was pressed against his chest, and my brain was officially not functioning properly… again. He leaned down to whisper in my ear, causing shivers to shoot down my back.

"Are you going to let me help you this time, or do I have to sit in the background and worry that I might never see you again… _again_?" He asked.

I took a deep breath, lacing my fingers through his. "You aren't getting rid of me that easily, we're a group now, _all_ of us. And I wouldn't have it any other way- we'll discuss specifics later though, this is a _party_." I said adamantly.

"Have I told you you're perfect?" he asked, his lips pressed lightly against my ear.

I sighed. "I'm not. But I think we are pretty perfect together."

And the rest of that night was wonderful. The stars were clear in the sky, the flames licked at the stones that surrounded the enormous bonfire, and the music pulsed, wrapping everyone in the magic of being alive. I could handle what was coming, I wasn't in this alone.

__

To Be Continued…

* * *

**so... what did everyone think (review!!)??**

**there will be a sequel, titled Old Magic, coming soon!**

**Old Magic preview:**

_I threw it into reverse, barely able to see through the tears that poured relentlessly down my face. My head hurt, my wrist where I had yanked out of Ty's grasp hurt, but nothing hurt as much as the breaking of my heart. I literally felt like I was being torn in two- but not even in two- I had felt that before. I was being torn in three different directions, my charm bracelet swung on my arm, as I spun the wheel to spin around a tight corner. _

_The small red wooden wolf was urging me on, telling me I was right. The diamond heart was tugging at me, whispering in my ear- pushing me to run home, into the safety of my parents' arms, crying to them and letting them fix all my problems like they always had. And the white gold and silver sun was mocking me, showing me all the evidence that I was running away from the best thing I had ever had._

_... ... ... ..._

_He picked me up clear off the ground, swinging me around like I was still eight years old. I was laughing harder than I had laughed in a long time, momentarily forgetting my problems. He hugged me to him tightly. "I missed you kid." He said softly._


	13. Sequel Posted!

**Okay, so, New Magic is over... but the sequel is officially posted on my profile (Old Magic) and yes, for all you Jake lovers, this continues Rainy's story, but it revolves around her trying to save Jake from the mysterious enemy that he's been off fighting. If you liked this (New Magic), definitely read its continuation, and don't forget to review!!!**

**_~wwsadd_**


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